Land Of The Silver Sun
by darkstorm5000
Summary: Wolverine and Rogue travel to Japan together, where Logan falls for a beautiful young woman that they must protect from the villainous Silver Samurai. Plus, a handsome young thief from New Orleans crosses paths with them. Final Chapter Added.
1. Expecting The Unexpected

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or any of it's characters, they are owned by Marvel.

A/N: This story is a spin-off from another one of my fanfics, A Force to be Reckoned With. It took me a little longer than I expected to start this, but I hope everybody enjoys it. Anyways, here's a brief summary:

Logan has traveled to Japan in a continuing attempt to piece together the fractured memories of his past. He's beginning to face the realization that his last hope of uncovering those secrets may have disappeared, along with William Stryker, at Alkali Lake. Coming along with him for the trip is Rogue. She's gone with him to get away from the mansion for a while. This is following a recent break-up with the love of her life, Bobby Drake.  The story picks up with Logan and Rogue after arriving at Narita International Airport in Tokyo…

"Have you seen our luggage yet, we've been waiting for a long time?" Rogue asked Logan as they both sat in the baggage claim area.

"Not yet." Logan replied as he sat reading a local newspaper.

"Wonder if the airline lost it?" Rogue continued asking.

"Maybe." Logan responded.

"You sure are bein' awful calm." Rogue pointed out, "What gives?"

"Just usin' some of the Professor's relaxation techniques that he's been showing me so I can, as he says it, 'Channel any unpleasant emotional distress in a more productive manner.'" Logan answered.

"Sounds like some major anger-management sessions, especially if they're working on you. That at least explains why you didn't start tossing airport security left and right back home when they searched you. Ah was waiting for you to have one of your 'episodes' after the metal detector kept goin' off." Rogue told him as she turned away from the luggage carousel and looked at him, "What was on that card you showed them anyways?"

"It's a medical card Xavier gave me, along with my passport. It says that I've got metal plates and shrapnel in my body as a result of military service." Logan told her.

"Well, it beats tryin' to explain the real reason that the detector went off." Rogue said as she stood up. She put on her dark green leather jacket and walked over to a large window to watch other incoming flights, while Logan continued reading the paper.

After another half-hour of waiting, Logan and Rogue finally found their luggage and boarded a metro train into downtown Tokyo. During the almost hour-long journey, Logan thumbed through a map of the city and Rogue looked out through the window. She thought about how much things had changed in the more than eight months since they returned from Alkali Lake.

As she sat there, Rogue thought about her recent promotion to the active roster of the X-Men along with Colossus, Shadowcat, Iceman and Jubilee. The Professor had even sent them on a few missions already, with her as deputy leader. They were either recon jobs or they went to locate young mutants whose powers had just emerged. Rogue felt really proud that the Professor trusted all of his new X-Men with that kind of responsibility. They had worked so hard to earn their promotion, but now it seemed like it kept them busy almost around the clock. They spent a good majority of their time training, either in the Danger Room or in the school's workout facilities, or they were just struggling to keep up with the massive amount of homework that they still had to do.

But, as much as she didn't want to, Rogue couldn't keep her thoughts from drifting to the one person that she swore she wasn't going to think about while she was in Japan. Bobby. She thought about the fight that they had before they broke up and she thought about how much she still loved him, no matter how hard she tried to tell herself not to.

"I guess if Ah could turn off my feelings for him that easily, then it wasn't real love to begin with." Rogue silently thought to herself.

That's one of the reasons that Rogue was so glad that Logan had invited her to join him on his trip. All she wanted to do now was to try and focus on something else, besides the problems in her love life. The train ride seemed to fly by and before she knew it, they were in the sprawling centre that was Tokyo. Logan and Rogue then made their way through the crowded major and side streets to a small hotel in the Ginza district of the city. After an interesting conversation with the hotel's desk manager, Logan and Rogue took an elevator up to their rooms on the second floor.

"The hotel manager was really surprised when you struck up a casual conversation with him in Japanese. Ah guess the Professor's telepathic lessons in languages from around the world really do come in handy." Rogue said as she stopped in the hallway in front of her room.

"My Japanese was already decent before I hooked up with this outfit." Logan told her as he also stopped for a moment.

"Oh, when'd you learn it?" Rogue asked him.

"I'm not really sure." Logan answered as honestly as he could. He then continued down the hallway, "My room is two doors down, I'm gonna drop my gear in there and go out for a while."

"Where are we headin'?" Rogue asked him.

"We aren't headin' anywhere. You're gonna unpack and get some rest, we've got a busy day tomorrow." Logan told her.

"Just as well. Ah don't want to get in a bar-room brawl my first night as a visitor in a new country." Rogue sarcastically replied. But Logan didn't say anything back. He just smirked at her remark and then went to his room and closed the door.

After unpacking, Rogue looked and saw that it was pretty late, but she wasn't tired. It was probably due to her body not yet adjusting to the time difference. So, she just sat on the bed and watched various broadcasts on Japanese television for a while. As she watched, she took down some notes on the differences between American and Japanese television. It was for a paper that she had to turn into the school's interim headmaster, Dr. Henry McCoy, when she returned. As she kept scribbling down notes, Rogue saw a news flash scroll by that caught her attention.

"_Tonight on the evening news, International superstar Allison Blaire embroiled in a major scandal, following her most recent concert. Tune in for details and reaction from her fans worldwide…_"

After seeing the message, Rogue decided to find out for herself what the big news was.

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Half a world away, a cell phone rang on a nightstand at Xavier's School for the Gifted. One of its more 'vocal' residents was less-than-thrilled to have been awoken from her sound sleep.

"_Hello?_" The voice on the receiving end said groggily, "If this is a wrong number, I swear I'm gonna come and find you myself."

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine?" The caller replied, "Ah guess you really aren't a morning person, after all?"

"Rogue? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Jubilee. Ah suppose the accent gave it away, huh?"

"Something like that." Jubilee yawned as she sat up in her bed, talking to her roommate who was now an entire ocean away.

"I hope it's not too early. Ah've been tryin' to get this time difference straight." Rogue started to say, "It's a little after nine pm here, so I guess it's about eight am there?"

"And way too early, considering the kinda night I had." Jubilee answered.

"I just saw a news flash about the Allison Blaire concert. What in the world went on there to make the headlines all the way over here?"

"Instead of an entertaining evening, that thug Blob had to show up and ruin it. Him, along with me and the newest addition to the super-powered population, Allison Blaire, ended up turning the place into the 'Mutant Fighting Championships'." Jubilee replied.

"Sounds like it should have been on pay-per-view?" Rogue commented.

"If I was gettin' paid, then maybe having a bruised rib would make me feel a little better." Jubilee said as she sat and rubbed her side.

"You get hurt pretty bad?" Rogue questioned her.

"I'll live. Hank bandaged my side last night and he wants to look at it again, after my debriefing this morning." Jubilee told her.

"Debriefing? For What?" Rogue asked her.

"It looks like Blob wasn't just there for kicks, somebody sent him there to out Allison as a mutant. But it just doesn't seem to fit in with the Brotherhood's usual extra-curricular activities?" Jubilee revealed.

"It is kinda odd. Especially when you think about all of the stuff that the Professor told us about their past activities, and my own experiences with them. If they're up to something, maybe me and Logan should look at comin' back early." Rogue suggested.

"No way, enjoy your vacation, we can handle things here. But this is a first, there's trouble a brewin' and you two are nowhere in sight." Jubilee joked with her.

"How ever will Logan and me survive?" Rogue responded to her comment, "Besides, this ain't much of a vacation. Ah have two research papers to finish and an essay on Japanese/American cultural comparisons & differences to turn in, as soon as I get back."

"I'm definitely not jealous. So tell me, what is Japan like?" Jubilee asked.

"It's a beautiful country, at least the part that Ah've seen from the airport to the hotel." Rogue told her.

"What city are you staying in?" Jubilee inquired.

"We're in a small hotel in downtown Tokyo. It's actually pretty cozy, it's not the Hilton but it's nice." Rogue told her, "Logan and me are supposed to go sight seeing tomorrow at the Imperial Gardens."

"So, what is the one-man fight club up to?" Jubilee continued to ask.

"My bet is that he's at the local bar." Rogue told her, "While he gives the finest beer that Tokyo has to offer his own personal seal of approval, Ah'm sitting here watching TV in a foreign language and trying to soak up the local pop culture."

"And we thought the only use we would have for the Professor's psychic language lessons would be watching Spanish soap operas." Jubilee stated.

"Speaking fluent Japanese does have its advantages. For example, the hotel manager told us not to order the daily special at the diner a few blocks down." Rogue said.

"TV and food, where will the payoffs end?" Jubilee continued, "Well, I'd better get down to the war room so I can replay last night a hundred times for Dr. 'Detail' McCoy."

"Okay. Well, Ah'll talk to you again real soon." Rogue said as she hung up the phone.


	2. Chance Meeting

It was the middle of the next morning and Rogue was still trying to get a handle on the jet lag that she'd been feeling, ever since she and Logan landed in Tokyo. As she sat in her room at the Royal Prince Hotel located in the Ginza district of Tokyo, she heard someone knocking at the door.

"Hey, kid. You awake yet?" Logan asked her.

"Yeah, Ah've been up most of the night." Rogue replied as she got up and opened the door.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked her.

"I couldn't get to sleep. Jumpin' across about ten time zones'll have that effect on a person." Rogue answered.

"Well, whenever you're ready, get your camera and meet me downstairs. I figure touring the Imperial Gardens will take up most of our day." Logan said as he walked back down the hallway to his room.

"Okay." Rogue replied as she closed her door. She then sat back down on the bed and finished painting her toes before getting dressed. About half an hour later, Rogue was finally ready to hit the streets of Japan's capital. She grabbed her dark green leather jacket and headed out of the room. When she reached the lobby downstairs, she stood for a moment and admired the simple beauty of the hotel. It wasn't a big or extravagant place, but it was nice in it's own way. She spotted Logan at the other end of the lobby having a conversation with the hotel's manager.

"So, what interesting gossip am I missing?" Rogue asked as she walked up.

"Morihiro-san here was tellin' me about how nice the cherry blossoms look in the Imperial Gardens this time of year, during the traditional season of O-Hanami." Logan answered, "So, you ready?"

"Yeah. It looks like I'm gonna get to use the extra film that I brought with me after all." Rogue replied as they started towards the front entrance.

After stopping at a local coffee shop, Logan and Rogue boarded the metro rail to the Imperial Gardens. Once they walked inside, Rogue was amazed at the beauty of it's ancient architecture and of the surrounding forestry. To have somebody try to describe it to you was one thing, but seeing it first hand was truly spectacular.

"This place is so amazing." Rogue said as she snapped photos of the cherry trees, their blossoms in full bloom.

"It is a sight." Logan replied.

"You know, this is the kind of stuff that Peter would love to paint. I think I'll snap some extra photos for him and see if he can make a portrait from them." Rogue said as she continued aiming her camera at their surroundings.

"Sounds like a plan." Logan replied, "It looks like you finally got yourself adjusted to local time?"

"Ah guess all it takes is an $8 dollar cup of coffee to do that." Rogue told him, "At least that's what I figure it is once you convert it from Yen to Dollars."

"I hope you enjoyed it." Logan smiled as they walked along the waterway that flowed through the Gardens."

"I said it yesterday and I'm gonna say it again, this new and improved you is gonna take a lot of getting used to." Rogue told him.

"What're you talkin' about?" Logan inquired.

"Normally you'd at least get agitated about paying 20 times the going American price for a cup of coffee, but it seems like you've been taking everything in stride ever since we got here." Rogue said to him.

"I've just got a lotta things on my mind that I'm tryin' to sort thru." Logan told her.

"You mean the new memories that the Professor helped unlock?" Rogue asked him.

"Yeah, ever since we got here, some 'a them have been gettin' a lot clearer." Logan told her.

"That's awesome! What did you remember?" Rogue asked excitedly.

"There is this one memory that keeps coming back. It has to do with me training under a martial arts master a long time ago." Logan revealed.

"Maybe you'll start remembering other stuff, the longer that we stay here?" Rogue responded.

"Maybe." Logan answered as he looked back out on the water. As he watched some other tourists rowing by on the waterway, Logan thought about a part of that memory that he wasn't telling Rogue, and it had been haunting him for a few weeks now. It was about a young man that had come to Japan in an attempt to bring a sense of order to his very disordered life. The young man studied every aspect of the culture and trained there with total dedication, wanting more than anything to become a Samurai Warrior, the living embodiment of honor. But despite his best efforts, the young man was told by his master that he had failed, that he was not worthy of the title. That revelation had a lasting impact on him and the young man left Japan, believing that he never would be.

"Let's take one of those boat rides, so I can get some good shots from out there." Rogue said to Logan, snapping him back into the present.

"All right." He replied.

As Logan turned to walk back down the path behind them, his mind was still on those days gone by. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, something that he never did. He accidentally ran into a young Japanese woman, knocking her down in the process.

"I'm sorry Miss, I'm usually more careful." Logan apologized in Japanese as he reached out to help her up.

"I should apologize. I was so entranced by this ancient home that once belonged to one of Japan's most important warriors, that I wasn't watching where I was going." She replied in English as she looked up at the stranger whom she had bumped into.

"My name's Logan." Logan said as he introduced himself and helped her up to her feet.

"I am Mariko, it is a pleasure to meet you." Mariko Yashida said as she introduced herself. She then looked over to Rogue.

"Is this your daughter?" She asked.

"Actually, she's one of my students." Logan replied.

"My name is Ro…Marie." Rogue said as she walked over to introduce herself.

"Nice to meet you as well." Mariko said as she greeted Rogue. She then turned her attention back to Logan as they all stood under a large pine tree.

"You speak Japanese very well. Do you teach it to your students?" Mariko asked him.

"No, we have another instructor that handles that." Logan answered as he looked at the beautiful, yet elegant woman in front of him, "So, you seem to know a lot about the history of this place, do you come here often?"

"Whenever I can make time from my busy schedule." Mariko answered.

"Well, we'd be interested to hear more about it from you." Logan said to her.

"Nothing would delight me more." Mariko said to them as she led Logan and Rogue over to the structure that had been standing since the end of the 18th century.

As they took an impromptu tour of the Imperial Gardens, Mariko explained the historical, as well as the architectural, importance of the various structures within. But as far as Logan was concerned, she could have been reading from a telephone book and hearing it from her would still have been interesting enough to keep his full attention. Logan had met many women over the years, but only a few had left a lasting impression on his somewhat limited memory. Rogue took notice of the effect that their new acquaintance was having on Logan. She stepped back a few yards and took some photos of them, while Mariko pointed out important landmarks in the Kokyo Higashi Gyoen section of the Imperial Gardens to Logan.

"Wonder what Logan would say if I gave Peter this photo and had him make a portrait of him looking at Mariko with those puppy-dog eyes?" Rogue smiled as she thought to herself.

The trio continued to walk through the Gardens for a few hours more, but to Logan it didn't seem anywhere near that long. Suddenly, Mariko stopped the mini-tour she was giving them. She looked at her watch and then looked at Logan and Rogue.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. There is a very important person that I have to meet with this evening." Mariko said to them.

"Sorry if we kept you too long." Logan replied.

"There is no need for apologies. I enjoyed spending this afternoon with you very much." Mariko said to him as she looked deeply into his eyes. Logan had a question that he wanted to ask her before she left, but wasn't quite sure how to ask it. So he did what came naturally, he got straight to the point.

"Mariko, would you like to meet me tomorrow night for dinner?" Logan asked her.

"That…would be wonderful." Mariko answered.

"We're staying at the Royal Prince Hotel. Why don't you meet us there at 7 p.m. and we can decide where to go from there." Logan suggested.

"Then I will see you tomorrow." Mariko smiled as she started to walk away. When she was out of earshot, Rogue made an observation of her own.

"Somebody's in love." Rogue said as she teased Logan.

"What, do I look like Kitty and Jubilee?" Logan remarked, "It's gettin' late, let's get out of here."

As Logan and Rogue left the Imperial Gardens and headed back to their hotel they, along with Mariko, were unaware that they had been watched the entire afternoon by an unknown third party.

"Who are the Gaijin that were talking to Lady Mariko?" One man posing as a visitor to the Gardens asked in Japanese.

"I do not know. We were not sent to ascertain the identities of foreigners, but to learn who Lady Mariko is meeting with tonight." A second man replied.

"She is leaving, let us go." The first man said as they left to continue their surveillance of Mariko Yashida.

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Next Chapter: Who is following Mariko and why? That, and Logan & Rogue take on all challengers…

A/N: Special thanks to nd.edu for their pictures and description of the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo during O-Hanami.


	3. And In This Corner

A/N: Special thanks to enchantedlight, & 4Rogue for your reviews of the last couple of chapters.

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"How much farther do we have to go?" Rogue asked Logan as they walked down a small street, about two blocks from their hotel.

"Not much." Logan replied as he looked at the street sign ahead of him and then turned back to her, "What, are you actually looking forward to one of our trainin' sessions?"

"Yeah, Ah guess I am." Rogue answered, "It's become kind of like a release for me."

Rogue walked alongside Logan dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants, while he had on his usual leather jacket, white t-shirt and denim blue jeans. As they continued down the street that was just starting to bustle with the morning crowd, she asked him something that had been on her mind for awhile.

"Do you really think Ah've gotten any better since you started teaching me?" Rogue asked, as she wanted Logan's opinion on her martial arts skills so far.

"You tell me. How do you think you're doin'?" Logan said as he threw the question back at her.

"Well, I know Ah've learned a lot in the last six months." Rogue answered.

"Then there's your answer." Logan continued, "I could talk 'til I'm blue in the face about how much I think you've improved. But if you don't believe it yourself, then it won't do you much good."

After walking another block, the pair finally made it to the Tochikura Dojo in the Ginza district. Morihiro, the manager of the hotel where they were staying, was a friend of the dojo's owner and had recommended it to them. When they walked inside, they saw that other men were already in there training. Some were working out on various types of exercise equipment, while a few were sparring inside of the several boxing rings that had been set up within.

"Go over and start warming up, I'm gonna go talk to the owner for a minute." Logan said as he pointed over to an unoccupied floor mat. He then turned and walked over to a large office in the dojo.

Rogue went over to the mat and removed the hooded sweatshirt and warm up pants that she was wearing. Underneath, she was wearing a black body-glove style suit, trimmed in a light-green color. She had bought it the night before at the local shopping mall, after she and Logan had finished their tour of the Imperial Gardens. She wore this suit, along with a matching pair of gloves, to protect the both of them from any unintentional skin-to-skin contact during their training session.

As Rogue continued stretching and preparing for another one of Logan's intense 'torture sessions' (as some of the other students at Xavier's referred to Logan's method of teaching), a tall & muscular young man walked over in her direction.

"It looks like somebody here is lost." He shouted to the others in the gym.

"I'm not lost." Rogue replied as she continued her warm up, unphased.

"Well, since you can't read, this is a man's gym." He told her.

"Then Ah guess you don't belong here either!" Rogue responded as she rose from the floor mat to her feet.

"There a problem here?" Logan asked as he walked up behind the big man known as Sadao. The two men stood staring at one another for a moment. Then Logan made the first move.

"C'mon Rogue." Logan said as he led her over to one of the empty rings, "We're wastin' time here."

As they walked off, Sadao went back to the punching bag he had been working out on previously. Both he and Logan continued eyeing one another as they both continued their workouts. Meanwhile, Rogue started right where she and Logan had left off from their last workout back at the mansion.

"Go ahead and show me the body punch we were working on." Logan instructed her.

As Rogue threw the punch, Logan had her stop and he held her arm as he led her through the mechanics of the movement.

"Okay, you wanna start lower. Extend from your own center of gravity and then aim in a slightly upward motion." Logan said as he demonstrated it for her and then had her repeat it for herself.

"Like this?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, that's a lot better." Logan answered.

As they continued, Logan marveled at how quickly Rogue had mastered all of the basics. She had learned in only a few months, what took some a couple of years to master. Now she had to work on improving her form and timing, and work on perfecting her fighting instincts. But the one thing that she was still lacking was confidence in her own abilities. To Logan it seemed almost as though she didn't want to believe she was a good as she was, and he had not yet discovered a way to overcome that obstacle with her.

After drilling Rogue for nearly an hour on how to throw a body punch correctly, Logan had her move on to something a little more difficult. He showed Rogue how to deliver the perfect jump kick, one that an opponent could not easily defend against. As she tried to work out the specifics for herself, Rogue fell to the mat more than a couple of times, which was normal for a beginner. But the man named Sadao used this as an opportunity to try and belittle Rogue's ability.

"Look at her. Maybe she should learn to walk, before trying to jump." Sadao remarked.

"And maybe you should mind your own business." Logan replied as his newly found patience was quickly running out.

"Says who? You?" Sadao asked.

"I asked you before, You gotta problem, bub?" Logan shouted.

"My problem is this a dojo for real men, not little girls." Sadao said, "Maybe you should take her back to the sandbox where she belongs."

Logan could tell by Rogue's reaction that Sadao's words were starting to bother her. She had come so far from that young girl he had first met in a back road bar in Canada. She was now becoming a confident young woman, an X-Man, and the junior squad's deputy leader. Logan was determined that he wasn't going to let some local knucklehead screw all of that up.

"Since you feel so strongly about it, I got a wager for ya." Logan said.

"What would that be?" Sadao asked.

"I got Ten thousand Yen here that says the girl drops you like a bad habit." Logan stated as he pulled the currency from his pocket and handed it to another man that had been training in the dojo.

"It'll be the fastest money I've ever made." Sadao replied as he took the bet and then handed his money to the same man.

"Logan! Are you crazy?" Rogue yelled at him.

"Probably, but I figured you already knew that." Logan answered with a large smile.

"I'm serious." Rogue continued with a concerned look, "That's like a hundred dollars you just bet with that guy."

"Your point?" Logan inquired.

"That's a lot of money to lose." Rogue pointed out.

"Then don't lose." Logan said with a smirk as they walked to one of the sparring rings in the center of the dojo.

All of the men in the dojo came over to watch the young American girl take on Sadao, a man who was infamous for his brawls in bars and back alleys all over Tokyo. Even the dojo's owner, who had come out to see what the commotion was, wondered what kind of chance the foreign girl stood. As Rogue got inside of the ring, Logan noticed that Sadao was bare fisted.

"One rule," Logan said to him, "no hitting above the shoulders."

"What, are you afraid I'll mess up her pretty little face?" Sadao asked.

"No." Logan answered, "You're ugly enough as it is, bub."

"Just for that, I'm gonna wipe this entire gym up with her." Sadao said as he walked over to his corner of the ring.

"Logan, look at that guy." Rogue said as Logan got into the ring and went over to her corner.

"I'm lookin'." Logan replied.

"I don't know if I can beat that guy." Rogue told him.

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Logan said reassuring her, "But I got confidence in the training I gave you."

"It's easy for you to be confident, you're damn near indestructible. Ah don't have that kinda luxury." Rogue commented, "Plus, he's so big."

"You've gone up against Pete in the Danger Room. He's bigger 'n faster than this guy, even when he's not armored up." Logan pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was only practice." Rogue replied, "Plus, Peter was holdin' back with me. This guy is for real."

"You'll do fine." Logan said to her as she walked to the center of the ring.

"Ah hope so." Rogue replied, far less confident about her chances than Logan.

Sadao met Rogue at the center of the ring and looked down at her for a moment. Then, he suddenly lunged at her. Rogue quickly moved out his way and let him fly by to allow him to become more 'acquainted' with the ring canvas. He then got up and proceeded to run and dive at Rogue once again, in an attempt to knock her to the ground. This time she did a leap-frog over him and sent him back down to the mat. As he hit the canvas for a second time, more than a few chuckles could be heard among the spectators. This caused Sadao to become angry and lose some of his focus.

"Enough of this!" Sadao said as he got up to his hands and knees and then stood up, "Let's fight!"

Sadao then got into a traditional fighting stance, and Rogue did the same. He began throwing punches wildly at her, figuring that one would connect and would be enough to knock her out cold. But Rogue didn't panic, instead she remembered what Logan had taught her and reacted accordingly. She ducked and avoided his unfocused punches and waited for an opening. When Sadao was most vulnerable, Rogue hit him with a front leg sweep and took him completely off of his feet.

"He's getting embarrassed by a young girl!" One of the local men laughed loudly.

Sadao was temporarily disoriented after being taken down by Rogue, and she saw her chance to finish the match. As he got up to one knee, and then staggered to both of his feet, Rogue started running in his direction. She performed a jump kick on him just like Logan had been teaching her. It landed squarely in Sadao's chest, and she knocked the wind out of him. He fell back through the ropes of the ring and onto the floor outside.

"I'd say that ends things right there." Logan said out loud as he climbed into the ring, "Unless, he wants the girl to do him some serious damage."

As Sadao got up and walked off, beaten and humiliated, the other men in the dojo got in the ring and gathered around Logan and Rogue. Logan expected trouble from the group, most of whom had lost money betting on a sure thing. Logan was looking forward to trouble, since he hadn't been in a good brawl for a few days. But he wasn't going to get his wish, at least not now.

"You were very impressive!" One of the men said to Rogue, "I am glad somebody finally showed Sadao a thing or two. This is one bet that I'm actually happy to lose."

Each of the men walked by and congratulated Rogue, thanking her for showing the local bully that size wasn't everything. As they went back to their workouts, the man who had been taking bets came up to Logan to give him his winnings.

"Give it to the girl, she's the one that earned it." Logan instructed him.

As the man handed the money to Rogue, she was still taking in what had just happened.

"I can't believe I beat that guy!" Rogue said excitedly.

"I told you before that you could do it, but you needed to see it for yourself." Logan replied as Rogue went over to put her sweatshirt and sweatpants back on over her workout attire.

"What you said earlier, do you think I could really have hurt that guy?" Rogue asked as she pulled the baggy top over her head.

"If you had the inclination, you probably coulda killed him." Logan pointed out, "I was watchin' that guy train most of the morning. It's just like I was tellin' Pete back home, you may be big and strong but you can't completely rely on that. In Sadao's case, that's exactly what he did. That, along with a dose of over-confidence, made him a sloppy fighter. He ended up learnin' an expensive lesson about underestimatin' someone solely on their smaller appearance."

As they walked towards the front door of the dojo, Logan looked at the large amount of Japanese currency that Rogue was putting into her pocket.

"You decided what you're gonna do with what you won?"

"I sure have," Rogue replied, "I'm gonna get you a new outfit to wear on your date tonight with Mariko."

"What kinda outfit?" Logan asked apprehensively.

"You'll see." Rogue smiled as she walked out of the dojo with him, contemplating Logan's new look…

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Meanwhile at Narita International Airport, a flight was landing from the United States that carried a most unique visitor to Japan, who had been brought there for a most unique purpose. The young man exited the plane and made his way through the crowded terminal. He went to the loading area at the front of the airport and waited. As he stood out there with a duffle bag over his shoulder, he proceeded to light a cigarette in his right hand. Suddenly, a very well dressed older gentleman approached him.

"Mr. Lebeau, I presume?" The older gentleman said to the newly arrived traveler, "Please come with me."

"How you so sure I'm him?" He replied.

"You fit our contact's description perfectly, from the long trench coat to the hauntingly handsome features." The gentleman pointed out, "That, and another one of our operatives has followed you here from New Orleans, to ensure your prompt arrival."

"Dis must be some kinda special job, for me to get such tender, lovin' care." He responded.

"Indeed it is. Lord Keniuchio awaits your presence, so let us not delay Mr. Lebeau." The gentleman said as a long limousine pulled up to the curb in front of them.

"Y'all sure know how ta ride in style." He replied to the gentleman as they both got inside, "Oh an' jus' for the record, de name is Lebeau, but you can call me Gambit…"

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Next chapter: Logan & Mariko go on their big date, and Gambit learns the reason why he's been brought all the way to Japan, as he comes face to face with the Silver Samurai…


	4. Let's Chat, Shall We?

A/N: Special thanks to Star-of-Chaos, closet geek, Enchantedlight, Caliente, 4Rogue, and ishandahalf for your reviews of the last chapter, I really look forward to reading all of them. I know it's been a little while since my last update, but writing two stories at the same time is taking longer than I thought it would. (Yeah I know, silly me.) Anyways, I hope everybody enjoys reading this latest chapter…

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"If you don't stop fidgetin' around, Ah'll never get this necktie together." Rogue said as she was putting the finishing touches on her makeover masterpiece.

"I do know how to tie one on my own." Logan replied as he sat on the edge of the bed in his hotel room.

"Could'a fooled me, seein' as I've never seen you wear one." Rogue said as she finished tying the tie, "There, Ah'm all finished. Go take a look in the mirror."

Logan got up from the bed and walked over to the mirror on the wall. He stood there, looking at his own reflection. Rogue was determined that she was going to get him dressed up for his first date tonight, with Mariko Yashida. Rogue had picked out a fairly conservative ensemble for him, a medium brown suit, a dress shirt in a brownish-orange color, and a matching brown tie. She had even finished off the wardrobe with a moderately expensive pair of wingtip shoes.

"So, this is my new look?" Logan said as he stood there, taking in the sight of his 'new' self.

"Yep. Ah think you look very handsome. Brown is definitely your color." Rogue said as she stood behind him and looked at his reflection also, "When Mariko sees you, she won't know what to do with herself."

"Probably try to keep from bustin' out laughin'." Logan replied.

"She will not." Rogue quickly responded.

"Mariko's too smart and sophisticated a lady to let some fancy new clothes really decide how she feels about me." Logan stated," 'sides, new clothes or not, it's not gonna change what's inside."

"Ah don't believe mah eyes." Rogue said to him, "Logan, the man who'll take on the entire army single-handedly, is actually nervous."

"I'm not nervous, just realistic." Logan responded, "That, and I'm just tryin' to get used to these fancy new threads."

"Well, you can't wear t-shirts and jeans all the time." Rogue said.

"Says you." Logan said as he finished looking at his reflection in the mirror. He then went over to a chair in the room, where his leather jacket was laying and pulled out a cigar case that he kept in one of the pockets.

"You can't smoke that, not when it's almost time to meet Mariko downstairs." Rogue exclaimed, "You'll smell like cigar smoke the rest of the night."

"For someone a third o' his age, you're startin' to sound a lot like Xavier." Logan said as he put the cigar in his mouth, but didn't light it.

"As long as Ah don't get the matching hairstyle, that's fine with me." Rogue replied sarcastically as she and Logan prepared to exit the room.

"You sure you don't wanna join us?" Logan asked Rogue as she started walking down the hallway towards her room.

"Nah ,you two go ahead. Ah have a ton of homework to catch up on." Rogue said to him as they stood in the hallway.

"Alright darlin', then I'll see you later." Logan said as he got into the elevator.

"Just don't do anything I wouldn't." Rogue smiled, as the elevator doors closed in front of Logan.

As Logan made his way down to the lobby, he went to the front of the hotel and passed by the check-in desk.

"You look magnificent, Logan-san." Morihiro, the hotel manager, said to Logan as he walked by, "You must have a special evening planned."

"Thanks, Morihiro-san. I haven't planned anything yet, but I will be spendin' it with a very special lady." Logan replied, "She should be here any minute."

Logan then continued towards the waiting area of the hotel near the front entrance. He sat down in one of it's numerous chairs and looked out of a large window, watching as the traffic and pedestrians passed by. Then he looked at the clock on the wall, which read five minutes 'til seven. As he sat there, he thought about how his life had changed so much in the months since he was first brought to Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted.

He had spent years roaming the backcountry of Canada like a nomad. Now, he was a teacher, trying to impart his knowledge of survival skills on the next generation of mutants. It seemed like he had finally found a purpose in life, something that felt like had been missing for so long. He even began to look with renewed optimism at the internal struggle he faced everyday, the one to control the animal within. He now believed that he might stand a chance against it after all. But his new sense of hope couldn't keep him from wondering one thing. Was the Wolverine, that he fought so hard to control, a sick creation of the 'scientists' with the Weapon X project? Or had Stryker been right, had it been there well before that?

Regardless of the answer to that mystery, Logan felt that the most important thing that he had gained now were the friends, family even, back at an aged mansion in Salem Center, New York. What he had found there was a place that he could now call home.

As Logan sat in the waiting area in deep thought, he completely lost track of time. When he looked up at the clock again, he saw that it read 7:40 pm. After seeing the current time, the realist in him came out, attempting to place doubt on his newfound sense of hope.

"Well, I suppose it was kinda ridiculous of me to think I really had a chance with her anyways." Logan thought to himself as he got up and walked back to the lobby, "Hell, she's probably better off not gettin' involved with a guy like me."

As he walked back towards the elevators, Logan passed by the front desk and caught the attention of Morihiro.

"Logan-san, your evening is at an end already?" Morihiro asked him.

"Nah, I've just had a change of plans." Logan replied, "Looks like the lady I was waitin' on, got a case o' cold feet."

"That is too bad." Morihiro replied.

"Well, no point in me sittin' around moanin' about it." Logan said to him, " I'm gonna go up and change outta these clothes. Then, I'm gonna find me a bar and really start the night off right."

"I would think an activity that exciting would be reserved for our second date." A voice behind Logan said to him.

Logan turned around to see, none other than, his date for the evening Mariko Yashida.

"I figured maybe you had second thoughts about us goin' out." Logan said as he looked at her. Logan had thought that she was beautiful when he first laid eyes on her at the Imperial Gardens, but tonight, she looked totally stunning. She was wearing a jade short-sleeve blouse with a mandarin style collar, a matching colored knee length skirt, and a small handbag to accessorize the ensemble.

"Second thoughts? I have not been able to think of anything other than meeting you here tonight. I am sorry that I was so late, but I was delayed in a business meeting." Mariko said as she apologized. She took in the sight of Logan and admired how regal he looked in his attire.

"Well, what're we waitin' for," Logan said as he took her hand in his and guided her to the front of the hotel, "Let's hit the town."

As they went outside, Logan went to hail a taxi for the two of them. He was surprised when a very large black limousine suddenly pulled up in front of them.

"I know I'm good at gettin' a cab, but this is a first for me." Logan said, unsure of where the limo came from.

"Do not be alarmed, it belongs to me." Mariko replied, "Please, let us have a seat inside."

Logan threw a look of surprise to Mariko, and then they both got inside of the limousine. It quickly whisked them off to a reservation at one of the finer restaurants in all of Tokyo.

After they had arrived at the upscale establishment, the owner of the restaurant, himself, greeted Logan and Mariko at the door. Logan started putting two and two together, realizing that only a V.I.P. would receive this kind of attention. He wondered what else there was that he didn't know about Mariko. Once inside, the couple was shown to a secluded table within the restaurant. As Logan helped Mariko with her seat and then sat down himself, he decided he was going to find some answers.

"So, you said you were held up in a meeting? What line of work are you in?" Logan asked.

"Oh, I run my own company, Yashida International. We have business interests in almost every country around the world." Mariko answered, as she continued to look down at the menu that had been left by the waiter, "I believe you may have heard of one of the American companies that we have a partnership with, the Brand Corporation."

Logan could hardly believe the way that Mariko replied to his question, in a tone without any pretensions about her importance.

"Unbelievable, I'm sittin' here with Japan's answer to Donald Trump, and she seems like she could care less." Logan thought to himself as he read his menu, occasionally glancing at Mariko as she looked at hers.

"Have you decided what you will order?" Mariko asked Logan, breaking his current train of thought.

"Not yet." Logan answered as he looked up from the menu.

"I cannot decide either." Mariko responded.

"You know, you're pretty young to be the head of a huge company." Logan pointed out as he looked at Mariko, who barely appeared to be in her thirties.

"It would seem so, but there is a rather long explanation." Mariko started, "I inherited a shipping & distribution company from my father, Shingen Yashida, upon his death. When I became old enough to take it over, it was on the verge of bankruptcy. After a few years, and many late evenings, I was able to make it into a highly profitable business. Soon, others in the business world took notice, and I was able to expand our operations beyond our regional boundaries. But, there are some days I wish that I had never undertaken such a daunting task."

"What's the matter, job not to your liking?" Logan inquired.

"No, I value my career and the responsibility associated with it very much. My only regret is that with such a hectic schedule, it leaves me little time for anything resembling a personal life." Mariko replied, her tone a tad bit depressed, "I believe that it played a small role in ending a relationship of mine recently."

"I guess you're livin' that old saying, 'All work and no play…'," Logan responded, trying to lighten Mariko's current mood, "At least your job explains why you definitely need the comfortable ride you got out there."

After Logan made his last comment, he waited for Mariko to respond, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she just sat there with her face resting slightly against her hand, staring at her water glass.

"Great," Logan thought to himself, "I've managed to piss her off in under fifteen minutes."

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Logan spoke again.

"I'm sorry if I offended you with that last crack." Logan said as he apologized.

"Actually, I found it rather amusing Logan-san." Mariko smiled, "But your statement reminded me of my motorcycle, and how un-comfortable it must be in comparison."

"Really." Logan said, surprised by her statement, "How long you been ridin'?"

"Oh, I would never have the courage to actually get on it. I have it in storage at my family's estate at Agarashima." Mariko told him, "Shiro, a cousin of mine, bought it for me as a birthday gift a few years ago. But he is the daredevil of the family, ever since we were children he has had an adventurer's heart."

"For someone that probably spends her days starin' down major players from all over the world, gettin' on a bike seems like it should be a piece of cake." Logan told her.

"So it would seem." Mariko replied.

Mariko then remembered something that she had been meaning to ask Logan.

"I forgot to ask earlier," Mariko said to him, "Where is your student, Marie? I hope that she is not feeling ill?"

"Nah, she's fine." Logan answered, "Rogue said she had some homework to catch up on. But, I think she was just bein' considerate and givin' the two of us some time to ourselves."

"Rogue?" Mariko asked, having never heard that name before.

"Yeah…Rogue is kinda like a nickname that Marie goes by." Logan explained.

"Oh, I understand now." Mariko responded.

Just then, their waiter returned to take their order. After they had made their selections, they picked up their conversation from where it had left off.

"I believe that I have talked enough about myself, I would like to hear more about you." Mariko said to Logan.

"There's not much to say." Logan replied.

"Well, you have yet to tell me your full name?" Mariko asked.

"John Logan. But most folks just call me Logan." Logan said, as he told her the alias that he used most frequently.

"I have been wondering, how do you like being a teacher?" Mariko continued inquiring.

"To tell the truth, I never thought I'd have the patience, or the people skills, for it." Logan answered.

"Really? You seem to have a genuine way with people." Mariko pointed out.

"That's one way of putting it." Logan laughed out loud.

Just then the waiter brought them their appetizer, momentarily pausing their exchange. After the waiter had left, Logan asked her something he had been curious about since Mariko had made a mention of it earlier.

"So, things didn't work out between you and your boyfriend?" Logan asked.

"Unfortunately, it did not." Mariko said as she remembered her earlier comment, "On top of the time constraints that my career put on us, we each had different expectations from our relationship. I suppose that we simply grew apart."

"That can happen sometimes." Logan said

"What of you? Do you have anyone waiting for you back home?" Mariko asked.

"Well, there was someone really special to me back home. But, things didn't work out, despite how much I wanted 'em to." Logan told Mariko, as he revealed his feelings regarding the star-crossed romance between himself and Jean Grey.

"It sounds as if you've had similar bad luck with love." Mariko confessed.

"More like bad timing, at least that's what I keep tellin' myself." Logan replied.

"What happened exactly?" Mariko inquired.

"Me an' the lady had great chemistry together, but she was already involved with another guy." Logan continued.

"Under better circumstances, do you think things might still work out between you two?" Mariko asked, wanting to learn more about the man before her.

"Probably could've." Logan replied, "But it doesn't really matter now, she…died last year."

Mariko could see by the way that Logan relayed that last sentence, how much thinking about this lost love still deeply affected him.

"I am sorry if I brought back any painful memories for you." Mariko apologized.

"It's all right." Logan responded.

"I know that it must be hard to lose someone that you truly care for." Mariko said trying to comfort him, as she grasped one of his hands with her own.

"Yeah." Logan said simply.

Mariko and Logan sat there gazing into one another's eyes, both feeling an intense sense of déjà vu. It felt as though there was a familiar, unspoken bond between them. As they sat there looking at one another, time seemed to stand still.

After an enjoyable meal, Mariko's limo arrived to take them back to the Royal Prince Hotel. After a short ride, the limousine stopped in front of the hotel, and its occupants prepared to wish each other a good night.

"I really enjoyed spendin' time with you," Logan said to Mariko, as they sat next to one another inside of the limo, "If your calendar's clear, maybe we can go out to one of those fancy nightclubs later this week? I'm warnin' ya though, I ain't much of a dancer, but I'm willin' to give it a shot."

But this time, it was Mariko's turn to do the asking.

"Actually, I wondering if you would like to visit to my family's ancestral estate later this week. Please tell Rogue that she is invited as well. I believe that she would enjoy a tour of its rich history." Mariko said as she extended her invitation to both Logan and Rogue.

"Yeah, that sounds real nice." Logan said as he prepared to get out of the limo, "I'm sure Rogue'd love it too."

"My home is a good distance outside of the city, so I will send my driver to bring the both of you." Mariko told him as Logan opened the door, "Until then."

Mariko then gave Logan a small peck on the side of his face, as he got out of the limousine. Logan stood out on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, with a huge smile, as he watched Mariko's limousine drive off into the distance…

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Meanwhile, at a large estate located near the heart of Tokyo, a very long limousine pulled up in front of it. Here, a meeting was about to take place between two very different and very enigmatic individuals.

"Please, come this way." A servant said to a young man as he walked up to the front door of the spacious estate. It was owned by Keniuchio Harada, a man better known by the moniker that he used in his dealings with Japan's Jigoku criminal underworld, the infamous Silver Samurai.

"Dis some place y'all got here." Remy Lebeau, known worldwide as Gambit, thief extraordinaire, said as he walked into Harada's mansion.

"Lord Keniuchio has been awaiting your arrival this evening." The servant told him.

"Gotta admit, I been lookin' forward ta seein' him too." Gambit replied.

As they neared a well-crafted wooden door, the servant knocked before opening it.

"Your guest has arrived." The servant said as he opened the door and then took his leave.

"You are the one called Gambit, I presume?" A very muscular and imposing figure said as he stood at a window, looking out onto the Tokyo night skyline.

"Everybody 'round here sho' likes to presume things. But yeah, Ah'm him." Gambit answered.

"You are not quite what I expected." Harada replied.

"What's dat s'pposed to mean?" Gambit asked as he leaned against a wall in the room and lit a cigarette.

"The name Gambit is known world-wide as the greatest thief alive. I merely expected you to be…a bit older." Harada told him as he turned away from the window to face him. Gambit could see Harada was dressed in a suit that must've cost a small fortune.

"Age ain't got nothin' t'do with what I can do. I been taught by de finest thieves in de world, since I was a pup." Gambit responded.

"No one is questioning your credentials, or your skills for that matter." Harada replied.

"Speakin' o' credentials, yours ain't too shabby none either. To think, Ah'm standin' here wit' de one and only Silver Samurai, de big boss o' the entire Japanese underworld." Gambit told him, with a smile that could melt stone. "We could keep on and spend all night exchangin' pleasantries, but I thought you needed me fo' some kinda 'mportant job."

"Indeed, there is something that belongs to me and I want you to retrieve it." Harada said as he pulled a large envelope from a desk drawer. It contained numerous photos, which he handed to Gambit.

As Gambit saw the item that he was being hired to retrieve, he asked the first question that came to mind.

"What's so important 'bout dis sword that you sendin' me ta get?" Gambit asked, as he mulled through the photos and blueprints inside of the envelope.

"It is more than just a sword. It is the Honor Blade of my Clan. It has been passed down in my family for more than 800 years." Harada revealed.

"Well, it must have some sentimental value, considerin' what you willin' to pay me for dis pinch." Gambit said as he closed the envelope.

"It's value is priceless, that is why I have brought you here." Harada responded as he sat down at the desk, "It is located at an estate outside of Tokyo, near a port city called Agarashima. The estate is well protected by guards there, but a man such as yourself should have no difficulty with them."

"Well, my lucky streak hasn't run out yet." Gambit told him, "Now, dat I know de score, be seein' ya soon wit' de prize."

Gambit then walked over to the large window, the one that Harada had been looking out of earlier, and made his exit.

"Lord, do you believe he can be trusted?" One of Harada's most trusted advisors asked as he walked into the room.

"Retrieving the Clan Yashida's sacred symbol is but a small part of my over-all plan. If the one called Gambit does dare to betray the Silver Samurai, he will pay for such a mistake with his life." Harada answered as his advisor sat down in a chair in front of the large, wooden desk. "Tell me, have our spies learned whom my dear sister was meeting with last night?"

"They said she was meeting with Nabatone Yokuse. He was at one time a rival of your father's, Lord Shingen. But, they apparently settled their differences years before your father's death." The advisor replied, "They also said that he brought with him a briefcase, carrying what appeared to be very important papers."

"Inform the Hand that I once again have need of their services." Harada ordered, "Tell them to bring Nabatone-san to me. I want to know what exactly was in those papers."

"Do you believe that it is necessary to employ that band of ninja murderers for such a simple task?" The advisor asked.

"If my suspicions are correct, I may have need of their abilities as highly-skilled assassins as well. No longer will I be satisfied with the crumbs that my father left to me as an inheritance. There is about to be a power shift within the Clan, and I intend to be the one to reap its benefits." Harada said as the advisor left to carry out his request. Keniuchio Harada then turned back around to the window, to continue watching the busy city under the starry night…

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Next chapter: Wolverine vs. Gambit…


	5. A T' ief in the Night

A/N: Special thanks to Star-of-Chaos, enchantedlight, 4Rogue, SperryDee, De, closet geek, ishandahalf, & jadedbeauty for your reviews of the last chapter.

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"Rogue, our ride's here." Logan said from the hallway, as he called out through the door of the hotel room.

"All right, Ah'll be there in a minute." Rogue replied as she grabbed her leather book bag and headed for the door.

It had been a few days since Logan had gone out on his first date with Mariko Yashida, and it had gone very well. They had enjoyed each other's company so much, that Mariko had invited Logan and Rogue to visit her family's ancestral home. It was near the port city of Agarashima, about 200 miles north of Tokyo. As Logan and Rogue got into the limousine that Mariko had sent for them, they prepared themselves for a long ride.

"This is pretty nice, kinda like the one the Professor has." Rogue said as she took a visual inspection of the limousine's interior, "Ah wonder if it has a TV in it too?"

"What's the matter, you gonna die if you go ten minutes without one?" Logan smirked, as the limo pulled off from in front of the hotel and headed down the busy street.

"I didn't say Ah couldn't live without one, I was just wonderin' was all." Rogue responded as she settled into her seat.

The limo waded through the congestion of the bustling metropolis, eventually making its way to the city limits and then beyond. As the scenery changed from urban to rural, Rogue took notice.

"Man it's so beautiful out here. In a way, it kinda reminds me of where Ah grew up." Rogue said as she looked out through the tinted windows of the vehicle.

"You know, you don't talk much about your home in Mississippi." Logan pointed out to her.

"Probably, because Ah don't really have a home there, at least not anymore. After what happened with Cody 'n me back there, mah Mama and Daddy just couldn't deal with what I was. So Ah just up and left, not too long after." Rogue revealed as she looked at Logan, "Why the sudden interest?"

"It's no sudden interest. I intentionally never brought it up." Logan responded, "I just thought you had a right to keep some parts about your past private if you wanted to, same as everybody else. I figured you'd eventually talk about it, when you got good and ready."

"Well, I talked about things some with Jubilee and Kitty. But, Bobby was the one that Ah confided in the most. Ah just wish he trusted me enough to talk about how he was feelin'." Rogue said as she thought about Robert Drake, aka Iceman, the person that still had a hold on her heart.

"He's had a pretty rough time too, when you consider what happened back in Boston." Logan stated.

"Yeah, Ah'm not sayin' he hasn't." Rogue said to him, "It's just that I loved Bobby with all my heart, and Ah wanted so much to be there for him. But all that he could say was that he wasn't sure about things between us, before he broke up with me."

"Would you rather he lied to you?" Logan asked point blank.

"No." Rogue replied simply.

"I could tell by the way that the 'Popsicle' always looked at you, he cares somethin' awful deep for you." Logan told her as the limo rolled on through the countryside.

"What's your point?" Rogue asked, thinking to herself that dumping somebody is a really funny way to show how much you care.

"All I'm tryin' to say is that everybody deals with pain differently. That, combined with love, can make you do some pretty stupid things." Logan explained, "The kid probably already regrets what he did, and is back home kickin' himself for it."

"So, are you sayin' I should forgive him?" Rogue asked.

"I'm not tellin' you to do anything. You're a big girl now, so whatever happens 'tween you and him'll have to be a decision you make for yourself." Logan answered, "I was just tryin' to show you that relationships have a lotta different angles, and that sometimes you have to take that into consideration."

"Since your such an expert, does that mean that things'll start makin' more sense to me as Ah get older, _oh wise one_?" Rogue asked with a smile.

"Not-even-close." Logan laughed as he answered her question.

"Well, that gives me somethin' to look forward to." Rogue replied as she turned and looked back out of the window.

Logan and Rogue didn't have much else to say as they traveled along two-lane roadway. Eventually, Rogue did find the limo's television and she managed to keep herself occupied for the rest of the trip, while Logan tipped his tan cowboy hat over his brow and took a small 'siesta'.

After the nearly three-hour journey, Logan and Rogue found themselves at Mariko's home, which really looked more like a palace. There had been very few changes to the layout of the historic estate in nearly two centuries, and the majestic beauty that its architect had originally wanted to display could still be seen.

"I am glad to see that you have made it, I hope that your trip was pleasant." Mariko said as she came out to greet her guests.

As they looked at her, they noticed that Mariko wasn't wearing an ensemble created by one of the world's top designers, like the outfits they had seen her in before. Instead, she was dressed in more traditional Japanese attire, wearing a kimono and a beautiful hand-made silk ornament in her hair that was in the shape of a flower.

"The ride couldn't have been better." Logan replied, as some of the staff that worked at the estate came and took his and Rogue's things to the guest rooms that they would be staying in.

Logan marveled at the sheer size of estate and noticed the intricate detail that went into its design. But that wasn't the only thing that Logan noticed. He saw that there were guards stationed around the estate, and his enhanced senses revealed that some of them had tried to conceal themselves from sight. They were hiding either in the bushes & shrubbery that seemed to go around the property without end, or in other undetectable areas. For the time being though, Logan decided to keep his observation to himself.

"Come, let us go in." Mariko said as she led the trio inside of her family's home.

As Mariko began her tour, Logan and Rogue both were astonished at the sheer volume of historical artifacts contained within the estate.

"This a house, or a museum?" Logan asked Mariko as he looked closely at a suit of armor that seemed to be very old to him, at least judging by his senses at any rate.

"It functions as both, actually." Mariko replied, "Here are housed priceless family heirlooms and weapons. Some of these were worn by my ancestors and used in combat during various campaigns throughout Japan's history."

"How old is this?" Rogue asked as she looked at a sword enclosed in a glass case.

"It is over 400 years old. It is said to have belonged to the ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi." Mariko answered, as they continued to tour the history room.

As they walked, Mariko pointed out other artifacts and their historical importance. Rogue tried her best to remember the vast amount information that Mariko was giving her.

While Logan was off inspecting a rather large battle-axe, first-hand, something entirely different caught Rogue's attention.

"What are these?" Rogue asked as she pointed at a set of scrolls on a beautifully decorated stand.

"These scrolls are the written record of my lineage, they chronicle my family's genealogy for nearly 2,000 years." Mariko said as she held them carefully and showed them to Rogue, "It is one of the reasons that the name Yashida is one of the oldest and well respected in all of Japan, with the exception of the Emperor's of course."

"The Emperor?" Logan thought to himself, "She's damn near royalty herself."

As Mariko put the scrolls back in their place, another area of the room caught Rogue's attention.

"What's behind that?" Rogue asked as she pointed at a large, ornate door.

"That is where the Honor Blade of the Clan Yashida is kept." Mariko said as she went through the complex procedure to open the vault, "This sword was forged by the legendary swordsmith, Masamune. It is said to be as strong now, as it was when it was created nearly 800 years ago."

"It must be really important to be kept protected in here." Rogue surmised.

"Indeed. For our Clan it is the physical embodiment of what a Samurai should strive for, duty and honor. It is not to be worn by the Head of the Clan, but by the individual that best exemplifies those qualities." Mariko explained, as she removed the sword from its sheath and pointed out the various markings on it to Rogue and Logan.

"So, who carries that sword now?" Logan asked.

"The Daimyo, the Head of the numerous families allied to each other under the Clan Yashida, has not decided who would be worthy of such a title, as of yet." Mariko answered.

"When do you think he'll get around to making up his mind?" Logan joked.

"When I have made such an important decision, you will be the first to know, Logan-san." Mariko replied with a smile. She then put the Honor Blade back into it's holding place, closed the vault, and set the vault's security codes. The trio then walked through another large door that led outside to a large garden area.

"This is real nice out here." Logan commented as they took a seat near a large statue of a Buddha, "You could probably give the folks that run the Imperial Gardens a run for their money."

"Yeah, it really is beautiful out here." Rogue added.

"The tranquility is one of the reasons that I sometimes come out here to meditate when I am alone. It is just that with spending most of my time in the city, it is rare that I get an opportunity to do so." Mariko told them.

After spending nearly an hour in the garden, the trio retired to the inside of the manor where Mariko's staff served them an exquisite dinner. Afterwards, the trio sat and talked with each other as day quickly turned to night. They were unaware, however, that an uninvited guest dressed in a long brown trench coat was preparing to put three straight nights of surveillance to use.

"Been checkin' dis place out long enough, figure it's 'bout time I made my move." Gambit thought to himself, as he watched the estate through a pair of small binoculars from a nearby hilltop, "De man wasn't kiddin' about what he said, dey got some real nice security around here. But, it still ain't nothin' I can't get by."

As Gambit began his approach to the estate, he left behind a sports car that he had 'borrowed' in a wooded area back on the adjacent hilltop. He proceeded to put a lifetime's worth of training into use as he traversed the entire distance to the estate going unnoticed and without making a sound. He then grabbed some equipment from a small bag slung across his back. He used it to scale the fortified wall that had originally been designed centuries before, with the purpose of keeping out entire invading armies. Like the security of the estate, the walls were not enough to keep out one young man determined to accomplish his objective that night.

While Gambit made his way to the history room and to the vault where the Honor Blade was contained, Mariko, Logan, and Rogue were saying their 'good night's' as they walked outside to a fountain in the center of the grounds.

"We really do appreciate all the hospitality you been showin' us." Logan said to Mariko, as the trio stood outside on the clear and slightly breezy night.

"You are quite welcome." Mariko replied.

"Ah don't know 'bout you two, but Ah'm beat. I think Ah'll turn in for the night." Rogue said as she started towards the guest quarters.

"See you in the mornin' kid." Logan said to her as he and Mariko sat down on the ledge of the fountain.

"Rogue, you will find that my staff has left additional blankets in your room for you." Mariko told her.

"Thanks, but how come?" Rogue asked.

"I noticed that you have kept your gloves on the entire evening, and I merely assumed that you were not used to the colder weather here." Mariko stated.

"Oh, uh…yeah." Rogue agreed as she went inside, unsure of how she could explain the real reason she wore her arm-length, nylon-spandex gloves to Mariko.

After Rogue had left, Logan and Mariko were left outside alone.

"It is a very lovely night, especially considering the time of year." Mariko said as she broke the uneasy silence between her and Logan.

"Yeah, it's real nice." Logan replied simply as they sat there looking up.

"Logan, do you mind if I ask you something rather personal?" Mariko inquired.

"Go ahead, shoot." Logan approved.

"The woman that you told me of the other night, that you cared so deeply for…" Mariko continued.

"You mean Jean? That was her name." Logan responded.

"Yes, do you believe that you could ever feel the same for another woman?" Mariko asked, as she tried to determine if she and Logan could ever have a future together?

"Well, I mean, Jean and me had a real special kinda bond that I don't think anybody could replace." Logan revealed to her, "But, I guess truth be told, it would just depend."

"Depend on what?" Mariko inquired.

"Well, depend on the woman in question, and if we had our own bond that was just as special." Logan replied, as he took Mariko's hand in his and held it firmly.

As Mariko and Logan gazed into one another's eyes, they were just about to kiss when something primal and instinctive came over Logan.

"You got unexpected company." Logan said, as he caught a new scent that was being carried by the nighttime breeze, a scent that he knew was not that of somebody local.

"What do you mean Logan-san?" Mariko asked, unsure of what he was talking about.

"Go alert your security, I'll go see what I can find out." Logan said, as he saw a figure at the top of one of the towers. Logan then quickly got up from the fountain. He ran over and jumped up, grabbing onto one of the tile-ledges of the roof as he pulled himself up.

Gambit was considered the best thief alive for a reason; his every move was planned out to perfection before he would go out on a job. He had taken every precaution to prevent his detection while getting the sword that the Silver Samurai had hired him to retrieve. But, there was no way that Gambit could have accounted for running into somebody who possessed super-keen senses, capable of tracking prey for nearly 20 miles.

"Goin' somewhere, bub?" Logan asked, as he quietly snuck up behind the young thief on the rooftop and tackled him, knocking the Honor Blade from his hand.

"My, My. It does look like I been caught red-handed." Gambit answered, as he was surprised that somebody could get so close to him without him even noticing their presence.

"Well, since it looks like you're tryin' to take somethin' that don't belong to you, you've got two choices. You can come along nice and quiet-like, or we can have us a major misunderstandin' on this roof and do this the hard way." Logan said, as he recognized that Gambit had been holding in his hand the Honor Blade that belonged to Mariko's family.

"I'm a bettin' man by nature, Mon-Ami, so I s'ppose I choose de hard way just 'cause I think you're bluffin'. 'Sides, de man dat hired me to bring back dis sword is payin' me a hefty amount, so I guess I should at least give him his money's worth." Gambit said as he accepted Logan's challenge.

"Oh, you don't know how much I was hopin' you'd say that!" Logan responded with a smile, due to the fact that it had been more than a few days since he had given release to the more 'feral' part of his personality.

Wolverine ran at Gambit throwing a punch, which Gambit quickly dodged. As he was dodging his punch, Wolverine tried to outmaneuver Gambit by attempting a front leg-sweep that was meant to take Gambit off of his feet. But Gambit amazed Wolverine with his speed and agility, as he jumped up and over him and did a front flip in the air. As Gambit landed on the other side of Wolverine on the roof, he reached into the bag he was carrying on his back and pulled out two medium-sized metal poles.

"Been quite awhile since I come up against anyone dat could give me a run fo' my money. Guess dat means I'm gonna haveta break out de special hardware." Gambit said, as he pushed the two ends of the poles together. He then twisted them together in a single motion and quickly snapped them into place, forming a single fighting staff.

Gambit ran towards Wolverine and used his newly formed staff to catapult himself forward. He aimed a kick at Wolverine's head, which missed it's mark. But the kick was only meant to draw Wolverine's attention, as Gambit swung his staff backwards behind him with both hands and hit Wolverine in the side.

Wolverine held his side and winced at the pain that he felt at that moment. Even though the blow delivered by Gambit only did enough damage to leave a deep bruise, which Wolverine's healing factor would soon take care of in less than a minute, Gambit managed to touch something a lot deeper than Wolverine's flesh.

"I could waste this kid out in no time, just pop the claws and…" Wolverine thought to himself as the 'berserker' inside of him struggled to take control, "No, wait. The reason I came to Japan in the first place was to find somethin' in myself, some part of myself, that was better than the animal that Stryker wanted to turn me into."

Logan thought about the memory flash backs he had been having about his younger days in Japan, that were now a re-occurring dream. In those dreams, he kept hearing his martial arts instructor telling him that he would never become a true Samurai until he learned to control the rage within, and not let the rage control him. It was part of the reason that Logan hadn't released the claws housed in his forearms since arriving in Japan. Besides not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to him and Rogue, he had kept them inside in an attempt to prove to himself that he was more than just the 'rabid Wolverine' created in a laboratory, now located underneath Alkali Lake.

"Looks like I done took all of de fight outta you," Gambit said to Wolverine, who was still kneeling down.  As he snapped Wolverine back into the present, Gambit prepared to make use of the opening. He swung his staff at Wolverine, hoping to put him down for the count. But, Logan was ready to counter his attack this time.

"You shouldn't try the same move twice in a row, it leaves ya wide open kid." Logan said, as he grabbed the staff in mid-swing and used Gambit's own momentum against him.

Gambit was tossed to the other side of the roof and Logan quickly followed behind him. As Logan drew near, Gambit acted as though he had been temporarily stunned by Logan's move. When Logan was close enough, Gambit leapt up with blinding speed and threw a right cross punch that would have floored an average man. But, unbeknownst to Gambit, Logan was far from average. Logan felt the punch, as it connected to a jaw laced with the hardest substance known to man, but Gambit felt it even more so.

"Don't let nobody tell you dat you got a glass jaw," Gambit said as he stumbled back and held his right hand, which started to feel numb.

"Well, let's see how good your's is, bub." Logan replied, as he swung at Gambit before he had gotten a chance to recover from the previous punch.

Logan's punch to Gambit's jaw was enough to cause him to lose his balance and fall over the edge of the roof. Gambit was able to adjust and still land on his feet, but he found himself surrounded by Mariko's guard, all holding swords, staffs, and other assorted weaponry. Logan grabbed the Honor Blade that was lying on the roof and then followed Gambit down to the ground.

"Logan-san, the police have been contacted and will be here as soon as possible." One of the guards said as Logan landed on the ground from the roof.

"Good, it gives us a chance to find out who sent the 'Cajun Robin Hood' here in the first place." Logan said as he handed the Honor Blade to one of the guards, so that it could be returned to its proper place.

Meanwhile, realizing that he was surrounded Gambit simply held his hands up in surrender. He had been surprised by Logan's unique abilities, but he was determined that would not happen again. Gambit decided that he would just wait until the right opportunity presented itself to show them that he had a few unique abilities of his own, and then make his Great Escape.

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Next Chapter: Gambit busts out…

(A/N: Some of Mariko's explanation of her family and the importance of the Honor Blade was taken from the 'Wolverine Limited Series', which is a really good read if you ever get the chance to check it out.)


	6. Three Card Monte

A/N: Special thanks to Star-of-Chaos, SperryDee, ishandahalf, 4Rogue, There Is No Spoon14, enchantedlight, and Moon Comix for all of your reviews of the last chapter.

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"Keep movin'!" Logan said, as he and six members of Mariko's security guard walked together behind Gambit, all heading towards a large sitting room inside of the Yashida estate.

As they walked inside of the room, Logan shoved Gambit from behind, forcing him towards the center of the room. Mariko's guards then took up positions at various spots around the room.

"Hey, easy wit' dat." Gambit said, as Logan's push caused him to temporarily lose his balance.

"What's the matter, am I little too physical for ya?" Logan asked with a smirk.

"No, I just didn't take you fo' de 'touchey-feeley' type is all." Gambit replied sarcastically.

"If you don't start talkin' quick, I'm gonna do more 'n just shove you around." Logan said to him.

"You sho' like ta make wit' de threats." Gambit replied.

"It ain't no threat, it's a prom--" Logan started, but was interrupted by the entry of another individual to the room.

"Logan, what in the world's goin' on in here? Ah could hear you clear across to the guest quarters." Rogue asked as she entered the room. She came in wearing a light blue kimono that Mariko had provided her, and Rogue had taken her hair out of the ponytail that she normally kept it in during the day.

When Gambit saw Rogue, the charmer inside of him instantly took over.

"Aren't you a lovely vision, Chere? Ta t'ink, I traveled all dese miles, only ta meet de prettiest girl in the South way over here." Gambit said as he complimented Rogue, "Dey call me Gambit. And your name would be?"

"Ah'm Rogue…" Rogue started, as she looked into Gambit's hypnotic and piercing red eyes.

"Her name is mud where you're concerned, bub." Logan said to Gambit as he interrupted.

Just then Mariko entered the room, followed by her head of estate security.

"Logan-san, I was returning the Honor Blade to it's vault, when Toru came to me and said that you were questioning the intruder." Mariko said, as she stood next to Rogue at the entrance of the room.

"Intruder? Will somebody please tell me what's goin' on?" Rogue inquired.

"I caught pretty boy here tryin' to rip Mariko off." Logan answered, "We got into a little scuffle on the roof, where I tried to show him the error of his ways."

"More like he clubbed me wit dose cement blocks he calls hands." Gambit said. As they stood there, Gambit pulled a deck of cards out of his coat pocket and started to quickly shuffle them back and forth in his hands.

"You should be glad that's all I did. I guess that means I must be gettin' soft in my old age." Logan told him, " To be honest, the only reason you're still in one piece is because I want to know who sent you, kid."

"Kid?" Gambit said in a perturbed voice, "I ain't nobody's kid."

"You look like you're barely older than her." Logan replied as he pointed to Rogue, "Hell, you ain't even old enough to buy a drink yet."

"I am too, I'll be 19 in a few months. That's plenty old enough here, and in Madripoor." Gambit said, as he revealed a bit of personal information about himself. This was something that he never did, especially around strangers, but his age was a subject that always touched a nerve with Gambit.

"Everybody's old enough in Madripoor." Logan laughed out loud.

"What's Madripoor?" Rogue asked.

"It's an island nation, not too far from here." Logan replied, "And from what I hear, it's a place where anything and everything goes."

"Sounds wild." Rogue responded.

"And NO, we ain't goin' there to do any sight-seein'." Logan quickly said to Rogue.

As the conversation drifted completely off of the original subject, Mariko interrupted and brought it back to Logan's original question.

"Tell me, who sent you to take that sacred heirloom?" Mariko asked Gambit, as she walked away from the entrance to the other side of the room near Logan and Gambit, and with her chief bodyguard at her side.

"I was sent by a man callin' himself De Silver Samurai. He tol' me dat de sword belongs to him, said dat it belongs to his family." Gambit answered.

"You have been misinformed thief. I am Shingen Yashida's true and rightful heir. The Honor Blade is where it should be; it is with the Head of all of the families allied together under the Clan Yashida. You can tell my half-brother Harada-san, since I am the Daimyo of the Clan that I, and I alone, shall decide who possesses it." Mariko told Gambit, as she revealed a small bit of information that Harada had neglected to tell him.

"Brother, huh? Well dis is very interestin', looks like Sammie and Me are gon' have to have ourselves a good, long talk." Gambit replied.

"I hope you two can get everything settled while you're sittin' a jail cell, cause that's where your next stop is." Logan stated.

"I don't have time for none of dat, Gambit's got other more pressin' engagements." Gambit responded, as he stopped shuffling the deck of cards and held it in his left hand.

"What makes you think you're gonna walk outta here to make those dates?" Logan asked.

"Funny you should ask dat. See, I still got a few tricks up my sleeve." Gambit said as he started smiling again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Logan inquired.

"Remember what I said earlier, 'bout me bein' a bettin' man?" Gambit reminded Logan as he held two handfuls of cards, all evenly spaced within his grasp, "Well, here's where I up de ante."

Up to that moment Logan and Rogue had thought that they were prepared to handle any situation, considering everything that they had been through together. But, life has a way of surprising you when you least expect it.

"What in the hell?" Logan stated, as the cards in Gambit's hands started to glow eerily. Then, as Gambit turned his wrists slightly, Logan reacted a split second before him.

"Get down, duck!" Logan yelled, as he grabbed Mariko who was standing right next to him, and used his own body as a shield to protect her.

Gambit moved almost like a dancer through Mariko's guards; jumping, flipping, and somersaulting as he threw a flurry of kinetically-charged cards with the precision of a major-league pitcher at them. He was even able to grab his staff, which had been dropped by one of the guards who had sought cover from the kinetic firestorm. As Gambit made a path from the center of the room to the window, he stopped and stood on the windowsill. He then faced back towards the inside of the room.

"Till we meet again, Mon Ange (My Angel)." Gambit said, as he looked straight at Rogue. Rogue stood on the other side of the room, staring right back at Gambit. During Gambit's extraordinary card exhibition, she hadn't moved one single inch. Gambit turned to wave goodbye to Logan and then fell backwards out of the window, disappearing into the night.

Logan helped Mariko back up and made sure that she was okay, before he hurried over to Rogue to make sure that she was okay as well. He noticed that Rogue was still standing there, looking out of the window.

"Rogue, when I tell you to get down, that means for ya to move it on the double." Logan said as he raised his voice, which was more out of concern for her safety, than him actually being angry at her.

"I'm all right." Rogue replied simply.

"But you wouldn't be if one of those cards had hit ya." Logan pointed out.

"He wasn't going to hurt me." Rogue stated, in a voice that was unusually calm considering what had just happened.

"How're you so sure?" Logan wanted to know, as he started to grow concerned about how Rogue was acting.

"It was just a feelin'. He wasn't tryin' to hurt me…or anybody. Look around here, none of the guards were even hit. He just used those cards as a distraction to get away." Rogue pointed out. She and Logan surveyed the room and noticed that, despite the immense amount of damage that Gambit had caused, nobody was injured.

"Well, I'm sure gonna hurt him when I--"Logan said as he started towards the window, but was stopped by Mariko.

"No, Logan-san, let him go." Mariko told him.

"What, is everyone around here losing it? That guy just tried to rob you." Logan told Mariko.

"That is the least of my concerns right now. If my brother is the one that sent him, then that means Keniuchio has learned of my plans to restore my family's name." Mariko revealed, "I suggest that you and Rogue pack your things, I will have my driver to take you back to Tokyo immediately."

"I ain't goin' nowhere. If you got trouble, then I intend on helpin' ya." Logan responded.

"Same goes for me." Rogue replied.

"But, you do not know what it is that you are saying, and I do not wish any harm to come to either of you on my account. By attempting to take the Honor Blade, my brother has in essence issued a direct challenge to me, and to my leadership of the Clan. I am honor-bound to defend it, even unto death." Mariko told them, as she looked down with a very grave expression on her face.

"Well, M'iko darlin', I ain't gonna let it get to that point." Logan said as he put his arms around Mariko.

"I pray that it does not either. For if there is a power struggle within the Clan, it could result in far more blood being shed than just mine or my brother's." Mariko told Logan and Rogue, as her guards went back to their posts outside.

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As night became morning in the lively city of Tokyo, a meeting was about to take place that would change the destinies of two men forever.

"So Sammie, you miss me?" Gambit said, as he leapt through the same window that he had used a few nights before to exit Keniuchio Harada's residence. He had driven all night in the borrowed sports car, so that he could make it back to Tokyo by sunrise.

"I am surprised to see you so soon. Where is the Honor Blade?" Harada asked him, as he sat at his large wooden desk in his study.

"Oops, I musta forgot it. Just like you forgot to tell me dat you was sendin' me to take it from yo' sister?" Gambit said loudly.

"I hadn't realized that you had grown a conscience. I assumed that such a thing would be a liability in your line of work." Harada replied.

"It ain't got nuthin' to do wit' dat. Dis got to do wit' you not bein' up front wit' me." Gambit told him, "It also got to do wit' de fact dat I don't get involved in other folks family matters, it's a lesson dat I had to learn de hard way."

"You are involved, but now my family's problems are the least of your concerns." Harada said as he stood up from the desk, "I will see to it that you do not live long enough to regret failing me."

"Dat s'pposed to be some kinda threat?" Gambit asked, as he leaned against the wall near the window.

"No Gaijin, it will be your funeral." Harada stated coldly.

"Den you betta finish de job, else dey gon' end up buryin' you!" Gambit said, with a very serious look on his face.

Gambit and the Silver Samurai stood and stared at one another for a moment without saying a word. Then, Gambit left the room the same way that he had entered. A few minutes later, after seeing Gambit leave, Harada's most trusted advisor entered the room.

"I trust that all is well my lord?" The advisor asked.

"It will be very soon. The one known as Gambit has failed to bring me the Honor Blade, I want word sent to the Hand that whichever ninja brings me his head will receive a quite sizable reward." Harada told him.

"What of the information that we learned from Nabatone Yokuse?" The advisor inquired.

"It appears that my sister intends to undo what has taken me these many years to build. I will not sit idly by and watch that happen, I have had enough of her foisting her indignations upon me. She has 48 hours to make a decision: either turn complete control of the Clan over to me, or suffer the consequences." Harada replied.

"Shall I have the Hand to deliver your ultimatum?" The advisor asked.

"No, I believe this is a message that should be delivered in person. I will go and inform Mariko Yashida, myself." Harada answered, as he started to smile slightly.

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Next Chapter: Things get interesting between Mariko &Logan, while a messenger awaits them…


	7. Calm Before the Storm

A/N: Special thanks to Star-of-Chaos, SperryDee, ishandahalf, enchantedlight, Lucas'sgirl, Moon Comix, Du Soleil Oriental, Jean1, & mela for your reviews of the last chapter.

P.S. Du Soleil Oriental-As far as there being a connection between Mariko and Lady Deathstrike, sorry but there's nothing there, at least not that I'm aware of. But Mariko does have some pretty powerful relatives, and I'm sure they'll all get together by the end of this story. It might be a family reunion that none of them will forget any time soon…

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When the next morning arrived, it did so with a peacefulness that was in stark contrast to the chaos of the previous night. Birds were busily chirping and the grass was covered in the freshly formed morning dew, as nature slowly prepared itself for a new day.

Out of nowhere, nature and every thing else within earshot of the Yashida ancestral estate, received an abrupt and earsplitting wake-up call.

"What the…" Rogue said to herself as she sat in her guest quarters. The thunderous reverberations from outside interrupted her, as she was strapping on her black hiking boots. She recognized the sound of a motorcycle being revved-up, and she also knew that there could only be one individual responsible for it. Rogue grabbed her green jacket and proceeded outside into the cool morning air for a further investigation. She followed the sounds to the garage area of the estate where she spotted her number one suspect, Logan.

"Ah think you succeeded." Rogue said. She was leaning against the railing at the top of a very small staircase, one that lead from a doorway into the estate down to the ground.

"In doin' what, darlin'?" Logan replied, as he sat smoking a cigar on a medium-sized cruiser bike. He then turned off the motorcycle's engine, as he waited for Rogue's response.

"Scarin' away every livin' creature within a mile of here, is what." Rogue stated.

"That wasn't my intention, I just wanted to see what kind of power this baby has." Logan replied, "This is one nice piece of work."

"I am glad that you are so impressed, Logan." Mariko said, as she came outside to join Rogue and Logan.

"Your bike seems to be in perfect condition. Someone around here must be takin' real good care of it." Logan said as he sat on the motorbike.

"You have my cousins Shiro and Leyu to thank for that. When they come to visit, they are always telling me that one day they will get me to ride it, along with theirs." Mariko replied.

"Well, I'd say today's as good a day as any to get started and put this thing through it's paces?" Logan suggested.

"I don't know." Mariko replied hesitantly.

"It'll be alright. I even promise that I won't go very fast, until you feel more comfortable on it." Logan offered.

Mariko stood there, thinking about Logan's proposal before making her decision.

"Okay, just give me a moment to change into something more suitable." Mariko said, as she turned and went inside.

When Mariko came back outside a short time later, she was wearing a very casual ensemble consisting of a pink windbreaker with red stripes and a pair of denim blue jeans.

"Man, she looks incredible, and she's not even tryin' to." Logan thought to himself, as Mariko emerged from the house. Logan grabbed his leather jacket and got back onto the bike, giving it a kick-start in the process.

"Here you go." Logan said, as he handed a helmet to Mariko for her to put on.

"Where is yours?" Mariko asked him.

"Yeah, Logan. Remember, safety first." Rogue giggled, as Logan gave Rogue a look that conveyed his feelings on the subject. He put on the other helmet, but only to avoid having to explain to Mariko the real reason why he didn't really need one.

Logan knew that eventually he would have to tell Mariko the truth about his powers. But things were going so well between the two of them right then, and as selfish as it may have been on his part, he didn't want to ruin that.

The bike slowly pulled away from the house, as Mariko sat with her arms wrapped tightly around Logan's waist. They traveled along a small two-lane roadway that ran through the local area, and Logan had to adjust himself to driving on the left side of the road. As they rode along, they soon intersected onto a major highway. Logan noticed that Mariko's grip around his waist had slowly begun to loosen. He took that as a sign that she was becoming more comfortable with being on the motorcycle with him.

Logan and Mariko journeyed the area around the port city of Agarashima for a few hours, and the couple enjoyed every single minute of it. Later, they stopped at a full-service gas station to refill the bike, and while waiting, they decided to visit a nearby diner. After going inside and ordering, Logan made a comment about their surroundings.

"It's almost like bein' back at home." Logan said to Mariko, as they sat down in one of the booths.

"What makes you say that?" Mariko asked.

"I just didn't expect to see so many convenience stores along the highway out here, back home they're everywhere." Logan continued.

"Well, Japan is a modern nation, much like the United States. I suppose that it is something to be expected." Mariko told him.

"I know. I guess I just expected it to be alot more rural this far from the city. I suppose I'm just remembering Japan the way it was the last time I was here." Logan revealed.

"You've been here before? I did not know." Mariko stated.

"It was a long time ago, and I was a lot younger then." Logan told her.

"I imagine that things look differently when we are children, compared to seeing them as adults." Mariko said.

"Yeah." Logan replied simply.

Logan sat and realized that from the few fractured memories he had of being in Japan all of those years ago, that he was far from being a child back then. He figured that at that time, Mariko probably hadn't even been born yet. For the first time, it made Logan think about the prospect of his prolonged mortality, due to his mutant healing factor. It had gifted him with the ability to deal with and recover from almost every sickness or injury known to man. But, Logan was confronted with something that he had never considered before.

Would his healing-factor turn out to be a double-edged sword? He wondered if he would live out the rest of his days as a modern day Rip Van Winkle, forced to watch friends and loved-ones grow old and die, while he merely continued on? Since he had never really been close to anyone, at least that he could remember, it wasn't a subject that he had given much thought. But now, with Rogue and Mariko becoming so dear to him, it appeared that things in his life had changed.

"Logan? Is everything okay?" Mariko asked, as she brought Logan back to the present.

"Everything's fine." Logan replied with a grin, "I just let my mind wander for a second too long, is all."

"I was only saying that the attendants should be finished with the motorcycle." Mariko informed him, as she pointed towards the filling station through the window in the diner.

"Then let's hit the road, I guess it's about time to be gettin' back to your home anyways." Logan said, as they got up and left the diner.

"Before that, there is one place that I would like us to stop." Mariko requested.

Logan paid the attendant at the filling station, and then he and Mariko climbed back aboard the cycle. They headed down the highway and eventually made it to an interchange that put them back on the roadway that would take them to the Yashida estate. As they neared her home, Mariko pointed to a small side road a few miles from the compound. She had Logan make a detour down a narrow dirt trail that ended in a beautiful clearing, surrounded by numerous tall pine trees and with a small pond in the center. Logan and Mariko then got off of the motorcycle, with Logan wondering why they were there in the first place?

"It's real peaceful and all out here, but what gives?" Logan inquired, as they walked together and stopped by the edge of the pond.

"I just wanted you to see this area of my family's estate." Mariko started to explain, "I haven't been out here for quite some time, but when I was a little girl, I would spend most of my free time here. I enjoyed the solitude that I found in this location and it became a special place for me, somewhere where I could escape the world for a brief time. My mother died when I was still very young, and then after my father's death, I would often come here to think about all of the things I wished that I could say to them both in person. It wasn't the same as having a real conversation with them, but it did help a little."

"Well, I can see why this place means so much to you." Logan replied, as they walked together along a small trail around the pond.

"That is only part of the reason that I hold this place so dear. Do you remember the conversation that we had about the woman that you loved back home?" Mariko asked Logan.

"Sure." Logan answered, as he recalled talking about Jean Grey when he and Mariko were on their first date.

"You said that you could love another woman only if you felt a deep connection with her. I have never shown this area to anybody else before. Nor have I told anyone how important it is to me, not even my cousins'. When I was a teenager, I told myself that the only person that I would ever tell would have to be someone that I cared for very deeply. I knew then that it would have to be a man that I truly loved, and that I knew felt the same way about me." Mariko said to Logan, as she laid her heart out on the line and revealed how deeply she had fallen in love with him.

"Then it looks like you know everything, darlin'." Logan replied as they stopped walking.

Logan then looked into Mariko's eyes and saw a truth in them that meant more to him than any words either of them could say to each other. He gently placed his index finger under her chin and leaned down, kissing her. As they continued kissing for several minutes, Logan felt something beyond just a kiss between two people. Being with Mariko made a new, special part of him come to life, and it felt almost surreal. But Logan was sure that this was no dream.

"Oh, and just for the record, M'iko." Logan said, as they had stopped for a moment, "I love you too."

Mariko responded with a smile, as she rested her head against Logan's chest and they embraced one another.

As they remained for some time in their very intimate moment, Mariko soon noticed that the sun was slowly heading towards its twilight.

"Perhaps we should return before night falls." Mariko suggested.

"Yeah, Rogue's probably wonderin' where we are." Logan added, as they hiked back up the trail holding hands, and went to where they had parked the motorcycle. Logan and Mariko then boarded the motorbike and departed for her home on the outskirts of Agarashima.

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On one of many rooftops in downtown Tokyo, a visitor to Japan was standing there looking out onto the city, just as evening was turning to night. He had been jumping from rooftop to rooftop, making his way across the city in a most unusual fashion. But, he was not the only person traveling in such a manner that night.

"You know, y'all really need to work on yo' skills at tailin' someone." Gambit said, as he turned around from the edge of the rooftop to see three individuals standing behind him. They were all wearing red ninja outfits, and their ninja hoods made their eyes barely visible.

"We have been sent to silence your prattling, once and for all Gaijin." One of the ninja's, whose uniform identified him as a member of the Hand, replied.

"And here I was thinkin' y'all was havin' a pajama party, and had forgot to invite me." Gambit replied sarcastically, as he reached into his coat pocket to pull out a freshly bought deck of cards.

As Gambit was reaching into his pocket, one of the Hand foot soldiers quickly swung his sword at Gambit.

"Looks like Gambit's gonna have to teach you boys how to play nice." Gambit said, as he blocked the sword with his metal fighting staff.

"You have been one step ahead of us, but tonight your luck has run out." The ninja said, as a furious fight broke out between Gambit and the assassins of the Hand.

Gambit faced odds that were stacked against him on that rooftop, but to him that's what made the game of life interesting. Those standing on the ground below could hear the sound of metal hitting metal from the rooftop above. They could also hear what sounded like small explosions from up above, and could see brief flashes of light from the rooftop as well.

In less than ten minutes, however, the noises and light show had completely stopped.

"Looks like my luck done still held out, and de house loses dis time." Gambit said, breathing heavily from the exhausting fight. He stood on the rooftop and looked down at the three ninjas that he had just befallen.

As Gambit prepared to depart from the top of the building, he was suddenly struck in the chest by an arrow. It had been shot at him from a nearby rooftop.

As Gambit lay on the ground of the rooftop, his luck still seemed to be holding out, though. The arrow had been stopped by a light suit of armor that was woven into the attire that he wore underneath his trench coat. Gambit pulled out the arrow, then picked himself and his staff up from the ground. As he did, he came to see more than a dozen new Hand ninjas standing right in front of him.

"Y'all got here a little too late, de party's already over." Gambit smiled, as the group surrounded him in a semi-circle. His back was facing the edge of the roof and the street below them.

"We have come to avenge our fallen brothers, and to mete out the punishment demanded by our current employer, for your betrayal in siding with Lady Mariko." One of the ninja's in the current group said to him.

"Before we start Round 2, you got any more friends dat's gonna be joinin' us?" Gambit asked, as he tried to determine how many more members of the Hand he would need to worry about.

"There will be as many of us as it takes to bring about your death. We are the Hand, if you chop off one finger, another will grow to take it's place." The ninja replied.

"Dat's a sight I can go without seein'." Gambit replied sarcastically.

Just then, one of the ninja's lunged at Gambit with a long wooden spear that had a very sharp metal point. Gambit blocked the spear with his staff. Realizing that even his formidable skills were not enough to contend with the sheer numbers stacked against him, Gambit turned and jumped off of the ledge behind him. He used his staff to catch onto a long cable that stretched between the two buildings below, breaking his fall. He then fell onto the roof of a passing semi-truck on the street below, and successfully made his get-away.

"Brothers', after him! We must not let him escape!" One of the ninja's shouted, as the entire group split up and headed in various directions across the nearby rooftops, in an attempt to catch up to Gambit.

As Gambit rode on the top of the semi-truck, he knew that he was about to be in for a very long night…

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Logan and Mariko made it back to her home in far less time than it had taken to leave that morning. Mariko had become more comfortable riding on her bike, and this meant that Logan could travel at a higher rate of speed. As they pulled back into the garage with the headlights on, Logan and Mariko felt a sense of electricity between them.

"What will we tell Rogue, if she asks what we did today?" Mariko asked Logan, as they walked from the garage to the house.

"Tell her the truth, that it's none of--" Logan smiled, as he started to say something sarcastic. But he suddenly stopped, as his instincts took over. He stood and looked around, while Mariko tried to figure out what was going on.

"Logan, what is the matter?" Mariko asked him, as she saw that Logan had the same look on his face as the night before, when he took off after the thief that had tried to steal the Honor Blade that belonged to her family.

"Somethin' ain't right here. This place is quiet, but it's way too quiet." Logan said, as he took his right arm and motioned Mariko from his side and moved her directly behind him.

Logan entered the house first, but didn't see anyone. Now he knew that something was wrong. With a staff the size that Mariko employed, his enhanced hearing should detect their movements around this main part of the estate. But, he was getting nothing. As they moved further into the house, Logan noticed a dim light emanating from inside of the ceremonial hall, which was a large gathering room that was used on special occasions.

Logan entered the room, and saw a sight that sent a chill straight down his spine.

"**Rogue**!" Logan yelled out, as he saw her lying on the floor in the room, with a sword laying right next to her.

Logan started towards her to see if she was alright, when he heard a voice from the other side of the room.

"Do not worry, she is merely unconscious."

"Who said that?" Logan asked, as he saw a large figure standing on the other side of the room.

The figure was wearing a silver-colored outfit that had chrome-hued plating on it, and he proceeded to move towards Logan and Mariko from the dark corner in the room. Logan saw that he was wearing a silver colored bandana around his forehead, but Logan didn't recognize his face at all.

"Mariko, perhaps you should make our introduction." The figure said.

"Logan this is my half-brother, Keniuchio Harada, the self-proclaimed Silver Samurai." Mariko said in a very mocking tone, as she immediately recognized her own brother, "Tell me Harada-san, what is the meaning of your intrusion and this disgraceful action?"

"It is meant to show you that you are not capable of leading the Clan Yashida. The American girl fought well, especially for a Gaijin, but her skills were no match for mine. But, at least she fought better than the pathetic excuses that you have for a security force to protect our ancestral home. Were I in charge, such an intrusion would never happen." The Silver Samurai told her, as he leaned against a large wooden support beam in the room. Then he spoke again.

"Sister, I have come because I think it is time that we discussed the future of our family, and more importantly, the future of the Clan Yashida…"

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Next Chapter: Wolverine vs. The Silver Samurai (And it ain't gonna be pretty…)


	8. Instruments of Destruction

A/N: Special, special thanks to ishandahalf, enchantedlight, Star-of-Chaos, Moon Comix, Jean1, Lucas'sgirl, SperryDee, mela, and FireBringer for taking the time to review the last chapter.

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(Warning: The fight scene in this next chapter gets a little graphic in certain parts.)

"I'm gonna make you regret layin' finger one on the girl, you son of a bitch!" A very agitated Logan shouted at Keniuchio Harada.

"Those are very brave words, but do you have the means to back them up?" Harada, also known as the Silver Samurai, replied from the far side of the room in a very calm tone.

"Well, you're about to find out first hand." Logan said, as he started to walk towards Harada. But he was stopped, as a hand grasped him by the arm from behind.

"No, Logan-san, I believe that Rogue's well-being is paramount. Leave my brother to me, I want to hear what it is that he has to say." Mariko said, as she walked closer to her brother. Meanwhile, Logan went over to the side of the room to check on Rogue, who was still unconscious on the floor.

"You seem to be keeping rather…interesting company these days, Mariko." Harada told her.

"Whom I spend my time with is none of your concern." Mariko replied quickly, "You said that you wanted to discuss our family with me, so here is your opportunity."

"What I have to say is simple. I think the time has come for you to turn the leadership of Clan Yashida over to me." Harada stated.

"Is that why you sent that thief to steal the sacred symbol of our family?" Mariko asked him.

"I sent him to illustrate a point." Harada started, "If you cannot prevent a lone Westerner from infiltrating the sanctity of your own home, how will you fare against a truly skilled foe? For example, the Hand have currently pledged their services to me, but what if the day comes when they decide to once again pursue their own agenda of global domination? What if they set their sights on the Clan Yashida, the oldest and most powerful collection of families in Japan?"

"Dear sister, the world is a rapidly changing place, a place where the old rules often times no longer apply." Harada said as he continued, "It seems that in today's world, the might of the sword speaks far louder than the olive branch of peace ever will. Mariko, your heart is in the right place, but your desire to use diplomacy to maintain an atmosphere of good-will is misguided, at best. The ruthlessness that an enemy may employ against you must be met with an equal or greater response, a lesson that I have learned well."

The Silver Samurai then stood there, waiting for his sister to respond to his assertion.

"You are insane if you think that I cannot see through your words, and understand your true motives. You simply want control of the Clan so that you may further your own criminal ventures. That is the very reason why I removed you as the acting Head of the Clan years ago. Had I known what kind of man that you truly were, I would have never appointed you to such a position in the first place." Mariko replied.

"It is not as though you had a choice. You were little more than a child when our father died, and you were not capable of assuming such a monumental task as becoming Daimyo of the Clan. During the years under my tenure, the Clan flourished with my guidance." Harada responded.

"Yes, due to your involvement in corruption, murder, theft, and other illegal activities in the Jigoku criminal underworld. I have been working diligently since your removal to unravel all of those criminal entanglements that were entered into under your leadership. I will not allow you to have a second chance to finish ruining my family's name." Mariko stated, "If our father were here, he would be ashamed of your actions as well."

"Our father. Ashamed?" Harada smiled, as he looked Mariko squarely in the eye, "Shingen Yashida was a great man that understood power, in all of its forms. All of the enterprises that I engaged in were begun by our father himself."

"You are lying!" Mariko exclaimed, totally surprised by her brother's revelation.

After taking over control of the Clan Yashida and it's finances, Mariko had been working hard to rid her family of any criminal activities that they were involved in. She had assumed that her brother was the one that had begun these dealings. But now, the shock of hearing that her father was the one who had initiated such endeavors was inconceivable to her. Shingen Yashida had been a man that Mariko had always held in the highest of esteem; he was her hero and role-model when she was growing up as a little girl.

"Seeing as you are apparently unaware of what's going on, even in your own household, I believe that to be all the more reason for you to turn leadership over to more capable hands." Harada said, trying to convince her of his point.

Mariko didn't reply this time, as she actually contemplated if there was any truth in her brother's words.

"Way I see it, her hands are as capable as they come." Logan said to Harada, as he walked back into the room and over to Mariko.

Logan had been checking on Rogue, looking her over to see how badly she had been injured. He noticed that she had a nasty bruise on the side of her head, but otherwise seemed to be okay. Fortunately, he was still wearing his leather jacket and a pair of gloves from his ride with Mariko, so he simply picked her up and carried her into another side room that was adjacent to them. He found some pillows and laid Rogue down on a small sofa in the room. Logan then took off his leather jacket and placed it over her and placed the pillows underneath her head, trying to make Rogue as comfortable as possible until she regained consciousness. Then, he walked back into the main room to join the conversation Mariko and Harada were having. As he walked back, he picked up the sword that had been laying on the floor next to Rogue and carried it with him.

"You would do well to remain silent when your betters are speaking, Gaijin." Harada said to Logan. Then, he turned his attention back to his sister.

"I had heard rumors that you were seen around Tokyo with someone beneath a Lady of your status. I thought you were better than to compromise yourself with the likes of him, but it appears that I have misjudged you." Harada said, as he threw a less-than-subtle insult at Mariko, "I believe the term that the Americans use for your behavior is…'slumming'."

"That…is…it!" Logan yelled, as he finally lost control over the temper that he had been working so hard to maintain ever since his decision to remain at Xavier's school, "First you hurt the girl, next you insult me, then you go and insult your own sister. Bub, that's three strikes and you're about to be out."

Logan then ran at Harada with the sword that he was holding and swung it at him. But Harada pulled his own sword from its sheath and blocked Logan's attack.

"It is time for you to be taught a lesson, peasant. One, which you will not soon forget." The Silver Samurai said, as he took up a defensive position with his sword.

"Logan, be careful. My brother is an expert swordsman, but he can also use his sword to--." Mariko said as she tried to warn Logan, but didn't get the chance to finish her statement.

"Don't worry darlin'. I'm gonna hand his ass to him on a platter that's the same color as that armor he's wearin'!" Logan told her boldly.

"Your over-confidence will be your undoing, Gaijin." The Samurai said, as he ran quickly past Wolverine, and cut him on his left arm.

Wolverine grabbed his left arm with his right hand, and saw it covered from where the Samurai had drawn first-blood. Wolverine knew that within a matter of minutes the deep wound would be closed, so he held up his sword up in front of him and waited for the Samurai to make his next move. And the Silver Samurai did just that.

Wolverine was surprised at the speed and agility that the Samurai possessed, considering his larger, more muscular frame. Wolverine also took into account the fact that the Silver Samurai's outfit was a combination of gray leather and chrome-colored plating that covered most of his upper torso, parts of his arms and his legs. The plating was placed strategically so that it kept him fairly well-protected, but wasn't so bulky and heavy that the Samurai couldn't move in it.

"I can't really talk," Wolverine thought to himself, "This multi-million dollar metal bonded to my skeleton doesn't exactly improve my mobility either."

As Wolverine was thinking to himself, he came back to reality just in the nick of time. He barely managed to dodge a jump-kick from the Silver Samurai, which had been aimed at his head. The two combatants continued their duel for some time, and the clanking sounds from their swords striking together were loud enough to illustrate the intensity of their fight. In between the sword strikes, Wolverine and the Silver Samurai each tried to gain an advantage on the other with their vast knowledge of martial arts techniques. One would attempt a punch or a kick to throw the other off, but each man would be forced back into a defensive position, as his opponent countered. They seemed to be very evenly matched, and each man was determined not to give a single inch.

"You are good, Gaijin. But your skills, like the girl's, are no match for me." The Silver Samurai said, as he and Wolverine stood and took a brief pause in their battle. Both of them were starting to tire, but each was determined not to give up.

"Doesn't seem that way to me, especially the way that you're huffin'-and-puffin' over there." Wolverine smirked, as he started to spin his sword with his wrist in a circular motion away from his body on the outsides of his shoulders.

As Wolverine made that last comment, he was unaware that the Silver Samurai had a trick up his sleeve. The Samurai pulled out three shakens (ninja throwing stars) from his belt and threw them at Wolverine in rapid succession. Wolverine dodged the first one and deflected the second with his sword, but the third one managed to find its mark. It deeply lodged itself in his lower thigh, hobbling him in the process and causing Wolverine to fall down to one knee. As he kneeled down on the floor, Wolverine reached down to his right leg and pulled the throwing star out in one swift, and very painful, motion. He let out an undecipherable grunt as he took out the star, and then got up to continue the battle. But the Silver Samurai was standing there, waiting, and kicked Wolverine in the throat, knocking him back down to the ground.

"Pathetic. You made a grave mistake in daring to challenge me fool." The Silver Samurai said, as he stood over a crouching Wolverine. Wolverine quickly used his sword to strike back at the Silver Samurai, making a very painful gash on the Samurai's side where there was no armor plating, only the gray leather of his outfit.

"Looks like you better rethink that last statement." Wolverine said, as he remained kneeling on the ground using his own sword as support, while the Silver Samurai backed up and inspected the wound that had just been inflicted on him, "Now I'm gonna take another plug out of you."

Just as Wolverine was about to continue his attack, he was distracted as the other important lady in his life entered the room, through a doorway behind the Samurai.

"Logan, what happened?" Rogue said as she entered the room, rubbing the side of her head, "The last thing Ah remember is tryin' to help Mariko's guards, after some guy busted in. So I followed him into this room, and did my best to make my teacher proud. But, he must've hit me pretty good, because my head is still swimming."

Rogue was totally unaware of the fight going on when she entered the room, and because of her injury, she didn't notice that the Silver Samurai was standing not too far from her.

"Perhaps, I should finish what I started earlier with the girl?" The Silver Samurai smiled, as he turned around behind him to face Rogue. He then held his sword up in an attack position.

"Rogue, look out!!" Logan yelled, as he raced over in an attempt to reach her, before the Samurai did.

In what seemed to be a split-second, the Silver Samurai's sword began to glow as bright as the sun, as an eerie blue and red light emanated from it. Logan saw the sword glowing just as he neared the Samurai, and assumed that it was some fancy new weapon. But, in the very same split-second, Logan realized that he had been set up for an attack by the Samurai. It was too late, however, for him to do anything about it.

The Silver Samurai then proceeded to run his energy-charged sword through Logan's lower abdomen.

"**Logan**!" Mariko cried out, as she witnessed the man that she loved being cut down before her very eyes.

Meanwhile, Rogue finally regained her full senses, just in time to see the carnage in front of her, and she gasped in disbelief.

"**Arrrggghhh**!" Logan screamed out, as he stood impaled on the Samurai's blade. Logan slumped over against the Samurai's right shoulder, as the Samurai maintained his grip on his sword. Then Harada leaned over, to say something into Logan's ear.

"I do not know where it is that you came from exactly, but wherever it is, you may have been something significant there. Here, however, you have gone up against a true warrior and have learned who is the better man this day. Consider our lesson over now." The Silver Samurai said, as his blade stuck out of Logan's back, with energy still coursing through the sword.

Then suddenly, Logan looked up at the Silver Samurai with a look in his eye that could burn a hole through solid steel.

"Our lesson may be over, but I'm goin' for some extra credit now." Wolverine said, as the deep, maddening rage that he had been attempting to learn to hold in and control for the last few months, finally came back to the surface. It could be summed up in a single word, as a reflex in Wolverine produced a familiar sound…

**Snikt**!

Wolverine pushed the Silver Samurai back far enough to give him room to strike him with the three, one-foot long claws that had emerged from his right hand. The Silver Samurai reacted, just in time, to avoid being cut completely in half. Wolverine's claws still managed though to cut through the Samurai's upper body plating, leaving three very straight and bloody gashes across his chest.

"An animal, you are nothing more than an animal masquerading as a man! Is this what you have chosen as your future consort, sister?" The Samurai said, as he clutched his chest with both of his arms. His body armor had provided protection against the attack, and his wound was not as deep as it could have been. The Silver Samurai then delivered his ultimatum to his sister.

"Mariko, either hand leadership of the Clan over to me, or I will take it from you by force. You have forty-eight hours to make your decision." The Silver Samurai said, as he turned and stumbled through an exit on the far side of the room.

Meanwhile Logan fell to his knees, with the Samurai's sword running through his lower abdomen. The sword had stopped glowing as soon as the Silver Samurai released it. Logan grabbed the sword by its handle and proceeded to remove it from inside of himself, enduring the agony with only a few grunts of pain during the process. Once it was taken out, Logan dropped the sword on the floor next to him and collapsed. Mariko then quickly rushed over to a table in the hall and removed it's tablecloth. She made her way over and knelt down next to Logan, preparing the tablecloth for use as a tourniquet until medical attention could arrive.

"M'iko," Logan started, as he lay on the floor, "I was meanin' to tell you about the claws, about everything…"

"Shh, that…is not important now. You must remain calm so that I may apply this, and prevent any further blood loss." Mariko interrupted, as she went to raise up the bottom half of Logan's blood-stained t-shirt.

"That's just it, I'm what you would call a…mutant. The claws are only part of it, my body also heals itself really fast." Logan said, as he left his claws extended on his right hand. He desperately searched for the words to try and explain things to Mariko.

But, Mariko didn't need to hear any further words on the subject, she was getting a first-hand illustration of Logan's abilities right in front of her. She had started to clean the area around his wound with a part of the tablecloth that she had torn off. As Mariko did that she noticed the most peculiar thing, Logan's wound appeared to close itself right before her own two eyes. Mariko ran her hand over the area of his abdomen where the wound had been only seconds before, and realized that it was perfectly healed.

There was no more blood running out, no scabbing, not even a scar to indicate that such a severe injury had even occurred.

Mariko stood up, shocked by what she had just seen.

"I…I must…go and check on the rest of the security and staff." Mariko said, as she stood up and took a few steps back, before turning to leave the room.

Logan laid there, watching the woman that he had declared his love for only a few hours before and who had said the same about him, walk away after discovering the secret truth that he had been keeping from her. He knew by the expression on her face as she left, that things were not going to be the same between them.

"Logan, are you goin' to be all right?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, I just need to sit still for a little bit." Logan replied, "How about you?"

"I think Ah'll be fine, after a few dozen aspirin and a good night's sleep." Rogue replied, "Ah guess we'll both just have to wait for time to heal all of our wounds."

"In my case, I don't think that theory's gonna completely hold up." Logan told her.

"What do you mean? It looks like your healing factor's kickin' in just fine to me." Rogue said as she sat down on the floor next to him, in an Indian-style position.

"I'm talkin' about me and Mariko." Logan answered.

"She's probably just shook up from everything that happened with her brother." Rogue told him.

"You're not getting what I'm sayin'. I could see fear in her eyes and she was scared, but not because of her brother, but because of me." Logan asserted.

"Well, when you're able to, go after her and just explain everything to her. Ah'm sure she'll understand." Rogue responded.

"I don't know if that's gonna make a difference. I mean if she can't handle these, then what kind of future do we have together?" Logan said, as he held out one of his hands with his claws still extended, before retracting them, "She probably thinks I'm some kind of monster right now, and who knows, maybe she's right?"

After that last sentence, Logan sat and waited for his healing factor to finish repairing the internal damage that he had sustained during his fight.

"You know that's not true." Rogue quickly said, as she responded to Logan's self-doubt.

"I ain't just talkin' about the claws, or the skeleton, or the healin' factor. What I mean is what's deep down inside of me. Sometimes we just gotta accept who we are." Logan said, as he revealed to Rogue some of his most inner-most beliefs about himself.

"_We are who we strive to be, not what our circumstances may dictate to us_."

"Ah heard that once from this really wise and smart guy that runs a school back in Westchester County." Rogue replied as she recited a quote from Professor Xavier, one that had stuck with her ever since she had first heard him say it.

"That may be, but there are some things we can't change about ourselves, no matter how much we may want to." Logan said, as he finally was able to stand up. He then looked intensely at his adamantium claws as he popped them from his hand once again, "I've been pretendin' for too long, maybe it's high time I faced facts."

"You talk like you're givin' up?" Rogue said, as she stood up as well.

Logan didn't reply to Rogue's statement, and didn't say anything at all for a few moments. But eventually, he did speak again.

"I'm gonna go outside and check on everyone else around here, to see if they're okay." Logan told Rogue, "You gonna be all right in here?"

"Yeah." Rogue replied simply, as her eyes trailed Logan as he exited the room.

Logan lit a cigar as he walked around, and he saw some of the security guards around the estate. Most seemed to be relatively okay, but a few looked as though they needed some minor medical attention. For whatever his reasons, the Silver Samurai had not killed any of them. Logan figured it probably wouldn't look all that great for a boss to start offing his future employees; at least they would be working for him if Harada had his way.

The police arrived later and began to take a report of what had happened. Logan ran into Toru, Mariko's head of security, as he walked outside alone. Toru told Logan that the police were going to station some of their men around the estate. He also told Logan, in all honesty, that probably nothing would be done to Harada for what had happened. The police on the scene only had jurisdiction within the local area, and Harada was probably half-way back to Tokyo by now. On top of that, the Tokyo police would probably be unwilling to move against such a powerful individual like Keniuchio Harada, on a case of simple assault.

Logan just chalked it up to the legal system in Japan becoming more like the law back home. Logan told Toru that he needed to borrow Mariko's bike, that he thought it best if he and Rogue returned to Tokyo that night. Logan said he would drop the bike off at Mariko's penthouse in the city once they got back to Tokyo. After learning from the other staff how Logan had fought the Silver Samurai, Toru said that it would be fine.

Logan went and told Rogue to pack, that they were going back to the Royal Prince hotel in Tokyo that night. Logan then went and changed into a fresh set of clothes and gathered his things as well. After leaving his quarters, he tracked Mariko's scent to the garden area outside. He wanted to tell her that he was leaving, so he could give her some time and some space. His ultra-sensitive hearing detected her sitting in the garden, but he heard her crying softly to herself. So, Logan thought it would be best if he didn't disturb her, and he just left.

Logan and Rogue rode all of the way back to Tokyo that night. When they arrived back at their hotel, it was already past midnight.

"You still got your hotel key, darlin'." Logan asked Rogue, as she dismounted from the bike.

"Yeah. But where are you goin'?" Rogue asked him.

"I'm gonna take this bike back to Mariko's place here in the city, and then I'm gonna go somewhere so I can think for a while." Logan replied.

Rogue could hear the hurt in Logan's voice and she knew, first-hand, that only one thing could make a person sound that way.

Having your heart broken.

She remembered how she felt when Bobby Drake broke up with her, before she came to Japan with Logan. Rogue hated to think that Logan, who had been something of a mentor, a brother, and a friend all-in-one to her, was feeling that same way. She wanted to reach out and tell him something, anything, that might make him feel a little better, but she didn't get the chance to. After Rogue removed her bag from the back of the bike, Logan simply sped away and headed off into the night…

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Next chapter: Logan tries to come to terms with everything that has happened recently in his life, all the while an unexpected alliance is forged on the streets of Tokyo…


	9. A Mile in my Shoes

A/N: Special thanks to enchantedlight, Star-of-Chaos, ishandahalf, Moon Comix, mela, SperryDee, EvilWhiteRaven & Broadwaypoetess for taking the time to review the last chapter of this story.

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--Broadwaypoetess –Mariko Yashida was an actual character created in the X-Men comics, and first showed up not too long after Wolverine joined the team. She first met the X-Men when they rescued Japan from a villain named Moses Magnum. From there, she and Logan struck up a romance that lasted for years, but was always riddled with obstacles and tragedy.

I'm not really sure about the Gambit/ Hand connection you're referring to, since I missed most of the X-treme X-Men run until the very end. The Hand were originally villains created in the Daredevil comic series, and were most notable for resurrecting Elektra to be their top assassin (I think, I've only read sparse issues of Daredevil). Anyways, years later the Hand, under the direction of Iron Man's arch-enemy the Mandarin, sought out a new female assassin. They found an unconscious and injured Elizabeth Braddock, whom they brainwashed and remade into their own image (This is the **very** simplified explanation). Wolverine and Jubilee eventually rescued Psylocke, and Wolverine feuded with the Hand off and on for years afterwards, with Gambit sometimes along for the ride.

Anyways, back to the story…

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A few uneventful days had passed since the disturbance at the Yashida estate in Agarashima, Japan. Currently, Rogue was busy inside of her room at the Royal Prince Hotel, preparing to go out for a little while.

Meanwhile, a slightly older woman pulled up to that very same hotel, inside of a late-model black limousine. She was wearing a medium blue business suit and wore her shoulder-length, black hair in a single ponytail. Looking at her, she appeared to be a woman on a mission.

_"…and that was Allison Blaire with her latest single, the silky ballad Miss You Forever_."

A voice on the television in Rogue's room said this, as the set was tuned to a music video countdown that had been taped in the States and was now being broadcast on a station in Japan with text translation at the bottom of the screen.

"_But the real question is, is anybody going to miss her? Despite debuting at number one on this countdown less than a month ago, this video has fallen all the way down to number seventeen, and appears to be on it's way out the door. After what happened at her last concert in New York, maybe someone should do her and her career a favor and put them both out of their misery before it gets any worse..._"

"Somebody should put you outta your misery; no talent, hack VJ," Rogue said softly to herself, as she got dressed. She was more than a little upset at the hidden prejudice in the television personality's comment.

Ever since it had become public knowledge that Allison Blaire was in fact a mutant, her life and her career had been completely torn apart as a result.

Rogue was planning on going to a local Internet café close to the hotel, so that she could do some research for a paper. It was one of a number of projects that had been assigned to her by the school's interim headmaster, Dr. Henry McCoy, and she had to turn them in once she got back home. Rogue shut off the TV and grabbed her green leather jacket and book-bag, as she prepared to make her exit from the room. But when she opened the door, Rogue was surprised to be met by someone else there.

"Lady Mariko. I didn't expect to see you here." Rogue told her.

"Hello, Rogue." Mariko replied as she stood in the doorway, "I came here looking for Logan, but he is not in his room. I have left numerous phone messages for him over the past few days, but he has yet to call me back. Do you know where I may find him?"

"Ah'm not really sure myself." Rogue replied, as the two of them stepped back into her hotel room and closed the door, "Logan checks in with me every so often when he comes in, from Lord knows where. When he does, he usually looks like he's been out all night, and has had a rough night of it at that. When Ah tried to talk to him, he just grumbled a few incomplete sentences to me and then went to his room. He looked really depressed, but Ah guess Ah can't really blame him after the way you treated him. Ah thought you really cared about him?"

"With all of my heart." Mariko replied to Rogue's inquiry, in an unwavering tone.

"Then the fact he's a mutant shouldn't change that." Rogue said to her.

"Logan being a mutant has done nothing to change my feelings towards him." Mariko responded, as she looked directly at Rogue.

"Then why'd you run off like you did?" Rogue asked.

"Everything that happened with Logan and with my brother simply overwhelmed me. I know that I reacted badly, but I did not mean to hurt Logan. That is why it is imperative that I speak to him, so that I may apologize." Mariko told her, "You do not have any idea where he may have gone?"

"Probably a bar somewhere, but in a city this size Ah guess that leaves a lot of possibilities. You know, Ah'll help you look for him if you want?" Rogue offered, as they started back towards the door together. As they did, Mariko noticed that Rogue still had a visible bruise, from where her brother had hit her.

"Does it still hurt?" Mariko asked sympathetically, as she went to touch the side of Rogue's head. But Rogue quickly jumped back, almost as if it were second nature to her by now.

"I meant no harm, I was merely concerned." Mariko said, as she slowly pulled her hand back, thinking that perhaps Rogue was still upset with her for what had happened with Logan.

"It's not you, it's me," Rogue said as she took a deep breath. She decided it was time to tell Mariko the truth about herself as well.

"Ah'm a mutant like Logan, except that my powers work differently. Whenever Ah make skin-to-skin contact with another person, it's like Ah suck the life right out of them. Ah absorb their life energy, their memories, everything about them. Ah'm not able to control it, which means Ah can't touch another person without putting their life at risk…ever."

Mariko finally realized why Rogue acted the way that she did. Mariko had noticed that Rogue sometimes exhibited, what some would consider, rather bizarre behavior. Now, it was understandable as to why the teenaged girl always wore long sleeves and gloves, and why she seemed to keep just a little extra space between herself and others around her. Rogue was forced to spend everyday in virtual isolation, unable to have any meaningful physical contact with another person, and Mariko felt really bad for her.

"Why did you not tell me about this before?" Mariko asked.

"Because, being a mutant isn't something you really go around broadcasting to the world, especially with the way things have been for us lately." Rogue answered.

"I see." She replied, as unknown to Rogue, Mariko had a very good understanding of what a young person learning he or she was a mutant went through. Mariko then took hold of one of Rogue's gloved hands, and held it firmly.

"Come, let us find Logan, so that I can hopefully straighten everything out."

Mariko and Rogue walked out of the hotel together to begin their search for Logan. Mariko thought it would be best if they started their search right there in the Ginza district of Tokyo. As these two ladies stepped into the waiting limousine, they were unaware that a very interested party was observing them from a rooftop high above.

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A few hours, and many stops later, Mariko and Rogue got out of the limo in front of a small bar in the northern part of the district.

"The Lucky Pearl?" Rogue remarked, as she looked at the sign above the less than pristine building, "This place doesn't look so lucky to me."

"Hopefully, we will be the lucky ones, and this will be the place that we have been seeking out." Mariko said, as the two of them walked down an alleyway on the side of the building and entered the establishment.

As the two women entered the dimly-lit bar, they could tell that whatever was going on inside had the patrons very excited, because almost everyone inside was standing in a large circle and cheering. Some of them were even holding and waving money in their hands. Mariko wasn't really sure what was going on, but Rogue knew instantly. It looked similar to a scene in her life more than a year before, the night when she first met Logan. As they got closer, what she believed was confirmed as Rogue heard people making bets with one another on who would win the next match.

The pair made their way through the throng of people watching the fight and spotted Logan, just as he knocked out a local man with a single punch. They weren't fighting in a cage, but in an open space in the bar where a bunch of tables and chairs had been pushed out of the way. As a few of the men watching the spectacle dragged the unconscious individual away from the fighting circle, Logan went and sat down in a chair at a nearby table. As he sat, a waitress brought two shot-glasses containing alcohol and put them down on the table that he was seated at.

"You can just leave the bottle next time. Ain't none of these jokers even makin' me break a sweat tonight." Logan told her, as he quickly downed the two drinks. Then, he got back up from the table.

"Alright, intermission's over. Who's next?"

As soon as Logan said that, a voice from the crowd loudly responded.

"I am next!"

Rogue quickly recognized the individual as the man named Sadao. He was the guy that she had fought and beaten at a local gym, a couple of days after she and Logan had arrived in Japan.

"You know the rules. You can hit me first, anywhere you want. But if I were you, I'd avoid punchin' me directly in the jaw or face." Logan said to Sadao, as he re-entered the circle.

"No, I am through playing games with you, and this time there will be no rules. I am going to win back the money that spoiled brat of yours took from me, and I intend to show you little mercy as I do it." Sadao said, as the large man grabbed an empty beer bottle and ran at Logan with it.

"Have it your way." Logan said, as he grabbed Sadao and used the larger man's momentum to pick him up and body-slam him into a table close by.

"Looks like you just rolled Snake-Eyes, bub." Logan said, as he stood over Sadao and then fell to one knee. He popped three adamantium claws out of his right hand, and then held it less than one inch from Sadao's face.

"Logan, don't!" Rogue shouted, finally making Logan aware that she was there.

Logan could usually tell when Rogue was nearby, just by her scent. But with the combination of the hard liquor that he was drinking and the cigarette smoke inside of the bar, her presence had gone surprisingly unnoticed.

"You shouldn't be in a place like this." Logan replied to Rogue, as he remained in the same position over Sadao without moving a muscle.

Sadao laid there motionless, as his life flashed before his eyes in the form of three razor sharp blades right in front of him.

"Um, excuse me. Ah have been in a bar before, or had you forgotten?" Rogue reminded Logan, "Besides, what exactly do you think you're doin?"

"Drinkin' and fightin'. 'Bout the only things I'm good at." Logan replied. Then, he looked down at Sadao.

 "I suggest you get out of here, and make sure there isn't a 'next time' between us." Logan said to Sadao, as he finally retracted his claws and got up to let Sadao off of the floor.

Sadao took Logan's advice, and quickly departed the Lucky Pearl bar. Logan then went to grab his jacket and make his exit as well. As he walked through the crowd he had no problem leaving, since the patrons hurriedly moved out of his way.

"Logan, where are you goin'?" Rogue asked him.

"Well, first I'm takin' you back to the hotel." Logan answered, as he stopped and turned to face Rogue, "Then I'm gonna find another joint, so I can pick up where I just left off."

"You're better than this, and you know it." Rogue said, as she looked him in the eye.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me darlin', but let's face facts. I'm not the knight in shining armor that you seem to think I am, and it's high-time I quit pretendin'." Logan told her.

 But then, another voice called out to Logan as she emerged from the crowd of patrons that were behind him and Rogue.

"Logan, you are a better man than you give yourself credit for." Mariko said, as she also surprised Logan with her presence there.

"Coulda fooled me, especially by the way you were actin' the other night." Logan said to her.

"I am sorry if I hurt you. But after everything that happened at my home, it was just too much for me to handle at one time." Mariko responded.

"What you mean," Logan quickly replied, "is that you couldn't handle what your new boyfriend really is."

"It is true that I was surprised when I learned about your powers. But, that does not change how I feel about you." Mariko started, "Please, sit down and allow me the chance to explain."

Logan reluctantly agreed. He and Mariko went over to quiet corner and sat down at one of the tables inside. Meanwhile, Rogue went over and took a seat on a stool at the bar. Rogue was surprised when the bartender came up and asked her what kind of drink she wanted. She toyed with the idea for just one moment, but decided to order a soda instead.

"All right, you wanna tell me why you were cryin' in the garden the other night, if it wasn't because I'm a mutant?" Logan asked Mariko, as they sat at the table facing each other. The waitress brought Logan another drink, as his healing factor had already burnt off his two previous shots, leaving him almost completely sober. Mariko, on the other hand, didn't order anything.

"Logan, I want to apologize for any pain that I have caused you. I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally." Mariko started, "After I saw my brother mortally wound you right before my eyes, I thought the man that I loved was surely going to leave me that night. When you recovered almost instantly, it seemed to be a miracle."

"But it wasn't a miracle." Logan replied, "The fact that I got better was because of what I am, and that's what this is really all about. Why don't you just admit you can't handle it, and that you've got doubts about a future with some science experiment gone wrong?"

"Do not seek to presume my feelings." Mariko quickly told him, "When I said that I loved you, it was not some fleeting notion. It was something that I felt and believed with all of my being. Believe it or not, I do know first-hand the difficulties that a person born with abilities such as yours goes through."

"Really? And how would you know that?" Logan asked her, as he cocked his head a little to the side and leaned back in his chair.

"In my family, I am somewhat of an anomaly." Mariko began, "I was the only one in my generation that was not born with some sort of additional genetic ability. My cousins Shiro and Leyu Yoshida are mutants, each gifted with extraordinary abilities that make them extremely powerful."

Logan then moved back closer to the table, as Mariko began to talk about her younger years.

"I can remember consoling Shiro when his power first manifested itself." Mariko continued, "He was so afraid that our uncle, who had cared for him and his sister since the day that their mother died, would find out. I was there with him every step of the way when he struggled to learn to control his abilities. I also witnessed people that he had considered friends for most of his life; turn their backs on him when they learned the truth. I was also there when his sister Leyu began to exhibit similar abilities as well."

Mariko then smiled a little, as she paused for a moment.

"Even my criminal of a brother has been given such a gift as well."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked her.

"You saw a demonstration of his power, the other night with his sword. His body produces a form of energy that he is able to channel into inanimate objects. He uses this energy to create a tachyon field around that object, let us say a sword for example, to make it virtually indestructible."

Logan sat there in silence, as he took in everything that Mariko had said to him.

"As you can see, growing up in a family such as mine has given me a hint at what you may have been through, and of what Rogue may be currently going through. And I am disappointed in myself most of all, because it should have made me more aware as to how my actions the other night would make you feel." Mariko said, as she concluded her revelation.

"So, the claws don't bother you?" Logan asked her.

"No, now that I know about them." Mariko answered, "But I do have one question?"

"What's that?" Logan responded.

"You must feel a tremendous amount of pain when they emerge from your hands." Mariko surmised.

"Every time." Logan replied simply. Mariko didn't say anything, but instead, reached across the table and rubbed his hand in the area where his claws tore through his skin to reveal themselves.

The entire time, Rogue had been watching Logan and Mariko from the bar, and she noticed them acting affectionate towards one another again.

"Ah guess you two worked everything out?" Rogue asked the couple, as she walked up to their table.

"Pretty much, darlin'." Logan replied as he stood up, "Why don't the three of us get out of here, and go somewhere with a nicer atmosphere?"

Mariko and Rogue agreed with Logan's suggestion, and the trio prepared to leave. Logan put on his jacket and then they walked out through the bar's entrance. As the group turned to head to Mariko's limo waiting at the end of the alley, they stopped as they heard a voice from the roof of the adjacent building.

"Dis seems like a real strange place for y'all t'have a family outing."

Logan, Mariko, and Rogue looked up to see Gambit, the young thief that had broken into Mariko's residence previously.

"What the hell do you want?" Logan shouted at him.

"I just came t'talk, maybe give you some valuable information." Gambit replied.

He then jumped down from the roof of the one story building, and landed in the alley below, with his fighting staff in hand. When the trio looked at Gambit, they saw that his brown trench coat was slightly tattered in a few areas, as though it had been cut by a knife or by some other sharp object.

"And what makes you think that you have anything to say that we'd want to hear?" Logan asked, as Gambit stood across the alley from him. Gambit leaned back against the wall of the building and lit a cigarette before answering.

"I'm a man dat keeps my ear to de ground, and I been hearin' somethin' big is about to go down between Miss Yashida here and her brother. Word on de street is Sammie's gatherin' some major muscle behind him, so he can get complete control of de Japanese underworld. Dat means gettin' rid of all of his rival criminals, and apparently gettin' rid of his sister too, so he can take over de family empire. I followed Mariko from her office over to de hotel, and then around town as she and de beautiful fille here went to just about every bar and low-spot in de area. I wanted to talk to her, figurin' she could probably use a man wit' my particular talents workin' for her in a situation like this." Gambit told them.

"Talents? She doesn't need you to steal anything for her." Logan quickly responded, "You've been drinkin' too much of that swamp water if you think for one second that we're gonna trust you."

"Logan does have a point, why should we believe any of this?" Rogue asked.

"Your lack of faith wounds me, Chere." Gambit smiled, as he put his right hand over his heart in a mocking posture, "After I left the other night, I went back to Sammie's place and told him where he could stick dat sword, if he ever did manage to get his hands on it. So, I've been tanglin' off and on with those Hand ninjas he sent after me, as a result."

"You mean to tell us that one lone man, even with your skill and enhanced powers, has managed to survive against one of the oldest orders of assassins known to still be in existence?" Mariko asked him, surprised by his assertion.

"Dat's pretty much de story." Gambit replied.

"I can't believe you two are actually listenin' to this punk!" Logan said to Mariko and Rogue, "The only thing this joker is interested in is savin' his own skin. You can stand here and listen to this crap if you want, but I ain't got time to waste on him."

Logan then stopped cold in his tracks, as his enhanced senses told him that their small party of four was about to get much larger.

"Cajun, it looks like those friends of yours are right on time for their scheduled appointment." Logan said, as he looked up to the rooftops of the buildings on each side of the alley.

He saw mysterious figures at the edges, appearing one after another from the shadows. A rough count told him that there were probably about fifteen to twenty individuals up above.

"The traitor is merely a secondary prize of ours. Our main concern right now is to hear Lady Mariko's answer to the Silver Samurai's demand." The lead ninja, who wore a special sash on his hip, said.

"Answer to what?" Mariko responded.

"As to whether or not you will turn over the leadership of the Clan Yashida. We are well past the forty-eight hour window that you were afforded by your brother to make your decision." The ninja stated.

"My answer now is the same, as it was when I spoke face to face with my brother. Under **no** circumstances will I give him the opportunity to continue the dishonorable activities that he, and apparently my father, had my family involved in." Mariko answered.

"Then, prepare to pay for that decision with your life." The ninja replied, as the Hand began to fall down from the sky like rain.

"Rogue, darlin', get ready. Because it looks like you and me both are about to find out how good of a teacher I really am." Logan said to his teenaged protégé, as he popped his adamantium claws out of his hands.

Rogue got into a defensive fighting stance, while Gambit quickly moved over to join the group as he pulled out a few cards from his coat and charged them up. Despite being out-numbered, Logan couldn't help but grin a little as he figured that the Hand didn't know what kind of trouble they had just bitten off…

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Next Chapter: Rumble in Big Tokyo…


	10. Rumble in Big Tokyo

A/N: Special thanks to **mela, enchantedlight, Star-of-Chaos, Episodic, Lady Zymergy, Lucas'sgirl, EvilWhiteRaven, Jean1, ishandahalf, **&** SperryDee **for your reviews of the last chapter.

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On a night when the Lucky Pearl Bar was packed with patrons, even at such an early hour in the evening, the festive mood inside laid in stark contrast to the chaotic atmosphere outside. Those inside, who had been seeking a night of entertainment and enjoyment, stopped what they were doing when they heard a commotion outside. Some of the more curious patrons decided to go over to the entrance to see exactly what was going on. But when they looked outside…

"Looks like for dis hand, de Joker gonna be wild!"

…were the only words that those standing at the door of the bar heard, before a flurry of brightly flashing objects passed by and suddenly exploded nearby in the back alley in front of them. The observers quickly realized that this was no mere commotion or disturbance that they were witnessing; instead it appeared that a full-scale war had just broken out right outside in the less than stellar neighborhood.

"Eliminate the clawed one first! The Silver Samurai stated that he poses the greatest danger to us." The lead ninja of the Hand hit-squad shouted to the other ninjas below, as he stood on the edge of the roof that overlooked the alley.

"Danger? That don't even begin to cover it, bub!" Wolverine replied, as he Gambit, Rogue, and Mariko were in various parts of the alley with the Hand, fighting for their lives.

"There must be like a hundred of these ninja guys." Rogue said aloud. She was busy ducking and dodging two of the ninjas, as they swung their swords at her.

"Seems more like fourteen or fifteen, if ya ask me." Gambit responded to her.

"Ah didn't mean it literally." Rogue replied, as she continued avoiding her attackers.

Gambit then took notice of Rogue's current predicament, and proceeded to shout out to her…

"Rogue, jump back, quick-like!"

Without thinking, Rogue instinctively did as Gambit requested, and did a backwards somersault. Gambit then quickly tossed a kinetically charged card at one of the ninjas that Rogue had been avoiding. Gambit did it with such a swift and fluid motion, that the ninja didn't have enough time to react. As the card found its mark, it instantly created a sizable explosion in the alley. When the smoke started to clear, Gambit saw that the ninja was lying motionless on the ground, with his sword beside him. Gambit then quickly made his way over to where the ninja was.

"You t'ink you can handle one of these?" Gambit asked Rogue, as he tossed her the sword.

"Why don't you tell me?" Rogue replied, as she promptly used the sword to first block the attack of the second ninja who had been swinging his sword at her, right before she punched him in the face.

"On second thought, forget dat last question." Gambit smirked. But now it was his turn to dodge an aggressor, as a ninja archer that was standing on a nearby crate in the alley, fired an arrow at him.

While Rogue and Gambit were fighting at one end of the alley, Wolverine more than had his hands, well claws really, full as he sliced his way through a small group of ninjas gathering around him and Mariko.

"Logan, look out." Mariko warned him, as one of the ninjas lunged at him with a long spear.

"Mariko, stay behind me." Wolverine said to her as he cut the spear in two, before thrusting one set of his claws into the chest of the ninja. Wolverine then handed part of the broken spear to Mariko so that she could ward of any ninjas that got by him.

Another ninja wielding a sword then came up and swung at Wolverine, but the ninja was surprised when the sword shattered after Wolverine blocked it with his claws. Wolverine punched his clawed fist into the abdomen of the second ninja, and then he picked him up and tossed him a few feet away.

Wolverine and Mariko then started to make their way back towards where Rogue and Gambit were, after being separated from each other when all hell broke loose in the alley. As they did, the ninja archer standing over on top of the crate fired an arrow at them, with Mariko as the intended victim. But the arrow didn't get a chance to reach its target, as Wolverine grabbed it mid-air, just in the nick of time.

"Hey Cajun, why don't you use one of those fancy card tricks of yours to take care of the guy shootin' oversized toothpicks at us?" Wolverine said as he and Mariko continued walking towards Gambit, with Wolverine hacking and slashing at Hand ninjas along the way.

"Your wish, Monsieur, is my command." Gambit said, as he threw a charged card at the archer. But the archer quickly responded, as he shot an arrow of his own that hit the card in mid-air and created an explosion halfway between him and Gambit.

"Well, if one card don't do the trick, let's see how you handle a full house." Gambit announced as he jumped towards the ninja archer, doing a full front flip in the process. As he began his descent to the ground, Gambit began to throw a succession of cards at the archer, all at different angles. The archer managed to stop the first few cards, but he wasn't able to stop them all.

"And for my next request…" Gambit asked Wolverine sarcastically, as the archer had been knocked off of the crate in a blinding flash of light.

While the two men were talking, Rogue was busily fighting another member of the assassin squad a few feet away. As she kicked the ninja in the sternum and knocked the wind out of him, another member of the Hand snuck up behind her with a metal chain in his hand. Before Rogue could react, the ninja was able to wrap the chain around her right arm and violently jerk her to the ground, wrenching Rogue's arm as it put a tremendous strain on her shoulder socket.

"Owww!" Rogue yelled, as she hit the ground. She then got up to one knee and picked up her sword with her left hand. She tried in vain to cut the chain, but she was unable to accomplish the task. The ninja then fiercely pulled the chain again. He brought Rogue back down to the ground, and this time it caused her sword to go flying a few feet behind her.

When Wolverine and Gambit saw this, Wolverine immediately started off to go and help Rogue. But, Gambit stopped him.

"Gambit's got dis." Gambit said, as he pulled a card from his coat and charged it. He then threw the charged card at the chain and split it in two.

The ninja immediately dropped his half of the broken chain, and pulled out a medium-sized dagger. He began to charge at Rogue, who appeared weaponless after losing her sword. Rogue was forced to get creative, and use the only thing currently at her disposal.

"Ah hope you have a good dental plan." Rogue said, as she swung the other half of the broken chain that was still wrapped around her forearm, and hit the ninja running towards her square in the face.

"For someone that thought she didn't bring much to a fight, you managed to find some pretty interestin' ways of expressing yourself." Wolverine said as he, Mariko, and Gambit finally made it over to Rogue.

"Ah wasn't really thinking about it." Rogue replied as she rubbed her right shoulder, which was still sore.

"That's because you're startin' to develop a natural fighting instinct." Wolverine stated, as the madness around them seemed to finally be at an end.

The group then surveyed the alley around them. They realized that all of the ninjas that had attacked them were now lying defeated in the alley. As they took in the fact that they had survived against such incredible odds, one of them made a comment.

"I say we get out of here, while de gettin' is still good, non." Gambit said to the group.

As soon as Gambit made that suggestion, he was immediately informed that leaving would not be as easy of an option as he thought. That message was relayed to him in the form of multiple ninja throwing stars being hurled at the group. Gambit and Rogue managed to dodge most of stars, receiving only a few minor cuts. Meanwhile, Wolverine had been taken a direct hit by some of the throwing stars. He had been using his body as a shield to protect Mariko, since the majority of the stars were meant for her.

"We have been instructed that Lady Mariko must not be permitted to escape with her life!" The lead ninja called out. During the fight, he had disappeared from the edge of the roof, only to return with a dozen fresh Hand soldiers standing behind him, all of them wearing sashes on their hip similar to his."

"All of you are gonna have to go through me first!" Wolverine shouted, after he had yanked out the throwing stars that had embedded themselves in his back and in parts of arms and legs.

"As you wish, animal…" The lead ninja sneered.

"If you boys wanna seriously throw-down, then let's get to it." Wolverine said to the ninjas up above, as his infamous temper quickly throttled towards overdrive. As a result, adrenaline pumped through his system at an accelerated rate, in response to his highly agitated state. Wolverine then popped his claws back out of his hands, and closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, he turned and looked at Rogue.

"Marie, it's time for you to get out of here." Wolverine instructed her, "I can handle things from here on out. Just stick with what I taught you, you know how we'll meet up later."

"No--way!" Rogue loudly protested, "Ah ain't leavin' you here alone with these killers. We can take out these guys together, just like we did with the other ones."

"**Just do as I say girl**!" Wolverine snarled at her, as his demeanor became more and more intense by the second.

Rogue was taken aback, as she had never heard Logan talk to her like that before. What Rogue didn't realize was that something deep within Logan was about to erupt, something that even frightened him once it came out.

The scientists at the Weapon X project had sought to create the perfect killing machine, one that was cold, ruthless, and unrelenting. As a result of their psychological brainwashing and memory tampering on Logan, they had very nearly achieved that goal. The scientists had affectionately nick-named his particular mental state when he became engulfed in such a violent blur, as a 'Berserker Rage.'

Despite the fact that Rogue was in training and on her way to becoming a full-fledged X-Man (well, X-Woman actually), Logan still didn't want Rogue to ever have to see this particular part of his being, and he also wished that Mariko didn't have to either.

"Come on Chere, I t'ink we better listen to your friend." Gambit said, as he took hold of one of Rogue's gloved hand, "He got de look of a rabid dog in his eyes."

"More like a rabid Wolverine..." Rogue sighed, as her emotions were still stinging from the fact that Logan had essentially told her to get lost.

"Huh?" Gambit asked, as he didn't fully hear her comment.

"Nothin'." Rogue answered in a hushed tone, as she and Gambit took off down the alley.

"We can deal with them later, right now Mariko is of paramount concern." The lead ninja said, as he and the regrouped band of assassins jumped down from the rooftop, and landed a few feet from Wolverine and Mariko.

"Mariko I want you take cover over there, and don't come out until I say so." Wolverine said, as he pointed to a stack of crates behind them. Without debating the issue, Mariko did as he requested.

"So, who wants to be first up at bat?" Wolverine smiled, as he looked at the Hand ninjas that had surrounded him.

As soon as Mariko made it behind the crates, she could hear the fighting break out in earnest in the alley. But unlike the previous fight that she was involved in with Wolverine, Gambit, and Rogue, this one sounded completely different. With the screaming and growling that was audible in the nighttime air, it almost sounded like a slaughter was taking place in that back alley…

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After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably no more than ten minutes, Mariko heard complete silence in the alley. Despite Logan telling her to wait for his signal, Mariko wanted to be sure that the man that she loved was okay. When she peered from around the crates, what she saw was a somewhat mixed answer.

"Logan, are you all right?" Mariko asked, as she saw Wolverine crouched down on the ground. He had a couple of arrows sticking out of him and he was drenched in blood, both from the men that he had been fighting, as well as from his own wounds. But upon closer inspection, despite what Mariko might have previously believed, she soon realized that she wasn't quite as ready for the sight before her as she thought.

All around Wolverine were the severed and mutilated corpses of the Hand ninjas that he had killed during his rampage. As Mariko drew closer to him, she reached out to touch Logan.

"Don't." Logan said, as he drew away from her.

"Logan, you are hurt." Mariko said, as she could tell that he had been injured in the fight.

"It'll heal. This body of mine always heals." Logan said, as he continued looking down at the ground, "It's the rest that doesn't seem to get any better, the stuff deep down inside."

After that last sentence, Logan finally looked up and stared deep into Mariko's eyes.

"Guess you're probably agreein' with your brother right about now, with what he said about me bein' an animal and all." Logan said to her.

"My brother is the last person to be casting aspersions upon anyone else." Mariko told him.

"Maybe, but what kind of person does what I just did, if he isn't something inhuman?" Logan posed to her.

"The Hand gave you little choice, and regrettably, you did what had to be done." Mariko answered.

"It's one thing to kill another person to defend yourself, or to protect the people around you. But it's another to do it whole-scale, and enjoy every second of it. And as much as I'm ashamed to admit it, I actually took pleasure in rippin' these guys apart." Logan began to confess, "There's this part of me inside, a part that's wild and feral. I don't know if it was put in me by the monsters that gave me this fancy skeleton and claws, or if it's been there all along, but this 'thing' inside lives to do nothing but hunt, kill, and destroy. I thought I was learnin' to control it, that maybe I was gettin' better than 'It'. But, it looks to be just another in a long string of lies I've been tellin' myself. I'm just afraid that one of these days I'm gonna get pulled too close to that edge inside of me, and I ain't gonna come back."

At that point, Logan was pouring out his heart to Mariko. He was telling her some of the inner-most observations that he had about himself, things that he kept inside and had never uttered out loud to another living soul. Logan then stood up, and in a couple of quick motions, he painfully pulled out the two arrows that were lodged in his back and shoulder.

"Tell me Mariko, how can you honestly love someone like that?" Logan asked her, as he stood there and waited for her answer.

"If you are asking how I can love a man that is brave and noble enough that he would risk, and even sacrifice his own life for mine, then there is only one response that I can give. I would tell him that I would gladly do the same for him, were I asked to." Mariko replied, as she began to realize how much she had come to love Logan, despite the rather short amount of time they had known each other.

To the casual observer, Logan and Mariko may have seemed to be extraordinarily different from one another, raising doubts as to how a relationship between them could ever hope to last. But beneath Logan's tough and often brash exterior, laid a heart of gold that was buried deep inside. And behind Mariko's often quiet and reserved demeanor, was the fiery spirit of a true warrior. Essentially, they may have been different in a variety of ways, but their similarities far outnumbered whatever differences may have existed between them.

With that, both Mariko and Logan soon left the alley.

Together.

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Next Chapter: Finally, **Rogue** & **Gambit** …


	11. All Through the Night

A/N: Special thanks to everybody that reviewed my last chapter-

**Pandora's Sorrow- **I think you just might get your wish, and also get to see Rogue do a lot more than just stand up for herself.

**Enchantedlight- **Glad you loved the fight scene!

**mela- **Hope you have a great holiday!

**Star-of-Chaos- **Yeah, I agree with you, and I'd say not being in the right state of mind is an understatement in describin' Wolvie's behavior in the last chapter.

**Jean1- **I intentionally tried to show that deeper side of Logan, but I think the movies wanted to start Logan off as that brash and rude loner, like when he first showed up in the comics. If anything, movie-verse Logan has been a sweetheart in comparison.

**Lucas'sgirl- **Not a big Jean fan I see. I can definitely understand your reason why.

**Angel of The Fallen Stars- **They were supposed to get married, but her calling things off really wasn't her fault. She was being mind-controlled by a villain named Mastermind, who had powers similar to Jason Stryker's but was a lot more powerful. He wanted to use her as his pawn in a plot for revenge against the X-Men, and he used his powers to brainwash Mariko into believing that she really didn't love Logan. He knew that being dumped at the altar by his lady-love would be the most hurtful thing he could do to Logan.

**Ishandahalf **&** Episodic- **Well, here it is, finally. I hope everybody enjoys…

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"You see anyone?" Rogue asked.

"Nah, belle. Looks like de coast is clear, at least for de time bein'." Gambit replied, as he stood on a couple of crates and peered outside of a window.

After escaping from the chaos back in the alley where they had been fighting the Hand, Gambit and Rogue cris-crossed their way through a good majority of Tokyo. Gambit wanted to make sure that they weren't being followed by the hired hit-men the Silver Samurai had turned loose on them. Eventually, the pair ended up at the loading docks down by the waterfront, where they sought refuge in one of it's many warehouses.

"We lay low in here for de rest of de night, then we move out at daybreak. It'll be a lot easier t'get around then." Gambit said, as he jumped down from the crates and walked over to take a seat on the warehouse floor next to Rogue, "De last thing those Hand-ninjas'll be expectin' is for us to go walkin' around in broad daylight." Gambit answered.

"Sounds like something Logan would say." Rogue said, as she commented on Gambit's plan.

"You mean de 'wild man' back there?" Gambit asked her,  "How you be figurin' dat 'Kid Creole' sounds anythin' like him?" Gambit asked her.

"Because, that's the kind of survival stuff that he taught us back home." Rogue informed him.

"Us?" Gambit continued to inquire.

"Me, and the other students at the school I go to." Rogue answered.

"You mean to tell me dat some school board actually certified him to teach?" Gambit laughed in astonishment.

"Well, not exactly." Rogue confessed, "See, it's not your regular school."

"What make it so special then?" Gambit continued asking, as his curiosity was piqued.

"It's a school for mutants. They teach us all how to live with our powers there." Rogue revealed to him.

"Sounds interestin'." Gambit commented, as he looked over at Rogue as they both sat on the floor and leaned up against some large boxes in the warehouse "You know, somethin' just hit me. We been so busy fightin' and talkin' about stayin' alive, dat we ain't been properly introduced to one another."

Gambit then took one of Rogue's gloved hands into his own and stared intensely into her eyes.

"Everybody calls me Gambit. But you, you can call me Remy."

As Rogue gazed into his eyes, a strange, yet familiar sensation came over her, just like the first night when she met Gambit. It felt like she immediately knew everything about him, and that she could trust him as though they had been friends their entire lives.

"And your real name, Rogue?" Gambit asked her.

"You already know my name." Rogue smiled.

"Yeah, but I'd just like to hear de words roll off dat pretty tongue of yours." Gambit clarified.

"It's…Marie." Rogue said, as she still felt strange even answering his request. It might have been because she had become so used to everybody simply calling her Rogue. But, something inside told Rogue that there might be more to it…

"Marie. Dat's a beautiful name." Gambit said, as he kissed her gloved hand.

Rogue just looked at Gambit and smiled, before she responded to his assertion.

"You lie like a dog. But, Ah do appreciate you payin' me the compliment."

"There really ain't no words dat can do justice in describin' a lovely creature such as yourself." Gambit said, as he leaned in close to kiss Rogue.

At that moment, Rogue wanted nothing more than to kiss Remy as well, but now she knew that something was wrong. Why was she letting her guard down like this, especially when she knew better? Gambit was a complete stranger to her, but what was it about him that made Rogue suddenly feel like she would do anything for him?

 As Gambit's lips moved closer to hers, the answer finally hit Rogue as she came back to her senses…

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Meanwhile, at the Yashida Penthouse suite in downtown Tokyo, another individual was finally coming back to his senses as well.

"Logan-san, what do you think that you are doing?" Mariko asked him, as she walked into the guest's quarters of her suite, "You should be resting."

Mariko had come back there with Logan, after leaving the back alley located in the Ginza district. After she had cleaned him up, she brought him to this room so that he could lie down and recuperate from the various injuries he had received during his fight against the Hand.

"Thanks for getting me these new threads to replace the ones that got shredded." Logan said, as he finished getting dressed in the black t-shirt and blue jeans that Mariko had sent one of the members of her staff to get for him.

"You still haven't answered my question." Mariko reminded him.

"Well, the short answer is I'm gonna go find Rogue." Logan replied, "I can't believe I sent her off on her own like that, especially with that joker from Louisiana or wherever the hell he came from. If she gets hurt because I let the 'Berserker' inside me take over and make such a stupid mistake, I'll never forgive myself."

Logan then proceeded to walk towards the door of the room where Mariko was standing. As he neared her, he started to feel dizzy and nearly passed out. As Mariko tried to break his fall, she felt as though she would be crushed when his massive weight fell into her. What she didn't know was, while an adamantium-laced skeleton was not very bulky, it did add more than a hundred extra pounds to Logan's frame. (A/N: Makes you realize what kind of physical condition Cyclops must've been in, to carry Logan away like he did at the beginning of 'X1'.)

"Logan, are you okay?" Mariko said, as she struggled to bring him back over to the bed in the guest room.

"Yeah, what happened to me?" Logan asked, as he laid back down for a moment.

"You almost fell down unconscious. Again." Mariko replied, as she sat down on the bed next to him, "It is what I have been trying to tell you. Despite your miraculous ability to heal yourself, you fought nearly a dozen members of the Hand and lived to tell about it. But, your victory was not without a price. Your body has sustained a massive number of wounds, and I believe that it will take more than a few hours for you to recover completely. When we were in the alley, you looked then as though you were going to pass out. My driver managed to help you into the limousine, before bringing the both of us back here. Now, just lie back and relax."

"I told you, I can't do that!" Logan protested, "It doesn't matter how I'm feelin', I made a promise to Rogue. I swore to her that night on the train that I would always take care of her, and I ain't about to go back on my word."

"You are in no condition to go anywhere. I will send some of my best men to search the area for her. After you've had some time to regain your strength and if they have not found her, the both of us will aid them in their search." Mariko told Logan, although it was really more of an order.

Logan looked at Mariko for a moment, then he reluctantly agreed to what she had said. Mariko went outside of the room and gave her request to one of her bodyguard's, and he was soon gone. Mariko then walked back into the room. She then said something to Logan that had been on her mind ever since they returned to the penthouse.

"I understand your concern for Rogue, I am worried for her safety as well. But during the fight in the alley, Rogue appeared to be capable of taking on a small army, all on her own." Mariko pointed out, "Which begs the question, how and why would she learn such things?"

Logan started to come up with another convenient cover story to tell Mariko to explain things, but he stopped himself. He was through with lying about his life, and especially lying to the woman that he loved. So, he decided to come clean about everything.

He started from the beginning, at least from the beginning that he could remember. Then he told her about…

--Weapon X.

--Him wandering throughout most of North America for the last fifteen years.

--Meeting Rogue, and being rescued by the X-Men.

--Magento and Liberty Island.

--His search for the missing parts of his past.

--Colonel William Stryker's attack on Xavier's School for the Gifted, and the realization that he and Stryker were irrevocably linked.

--Jean Grey, his unrequited love for her, and the ultimate sacrifice that she made at Alkali Lake to save them all.

Mariko was mesmerized by what Logan was telling her, it sounded like some fantastic story. But Mariko knew by the way Logan was explaining every detail that he could conjure from his mind, that this was no tall-tale.

"So, that's when Rogue and me came here to Japan. Then we ran into you not too long after that and you know the rest, M'iko." Logan said, nearly two hours after he had started his impromptu biography.

"That is quite an explanation. It does do a very good job in making sense of everything. I am glad that you trust me enough to reveal such intimate details about your life, and about your friends." Mariko said, as she laid down on the bed next to Logan and placed her head on his chest.

"I'd only tell someone that I truly loved." Logan teased her, as he paraphrased the statement that she had made to him back at the pond near her home in Agarashima.

Mariko and Logan stayed like that through the rest of the night, holding onto each other while they could. They knew there was no guarantee of what a new day would bring them.

While Mariko slept, Logan had a hard time doing so himself. Despite Mariko sending her top men to search for Rogue, and Logan coming to the realization that he had taught Rogue fighting skills that probably made her one of the most dangerous teenagers alive, he still wondered and worried if she would be all right until he was well enough to go find her…

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"You ever pull a stunt like that again, and you're gonna lose more than just a couple of teeth!!" Rogue yelled, as Gambit went flying a couple of feet across the warehouse floor.

Gambit had just learned, first hand, that thanks to Wolverine's training Rogue could throw a punch faster and harder than most of the men he had met in his lifetime. After being squarely decked in the jaw by Rogue, Gambit sat himself up on the concrete floor of the warehouse and tried to figure out what she was talking about.

"What de hell was dat for?" Gambit asked.

"Ah know when someone is tryin' to hypnotize me." Rogue said, as she stood up, "Ah should've known something was up that first night when Ah met you at Mariko's home. Guess you didn't count on me finally figuring it out, huh?"

"I got no idea what you talkin' about, chere." Gambit told her.

Rogue knew very well what the signs were when someone was trying to control or influence her mind, as did all of her fellow junior X-Men. Professor Xavier had spent numerous hours working with her, Iceman, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Jubilee on the subject. He had honed the psychic defenses in their minds to help protect them from enemies that may use telepathic or hypnotic powers on them. Enemies such as Mesmero, an old foe of his original X-Men.

But in Gambit's case, he had never received any formal training in learning to use his mutant powers. He only learned how to control his ability to kinetically charge objects through trial-and-error. Gambit's adoptive family, one that loved him as if he were their own flesh and blood, had trained him to be a superb thief and had given little consideration to the more subtle aspects of his mutant ability. Had someone like Professor Xavier been given the opportunity to instruct Gambit when his powers first emerged, Gambit would have had a better understanding of his ability to influence other people's perceptions of him. It was an innate ability that made it possible for Gambit to charm almost anyone into liking him.

Meanwhile, Rogue was chiding herself for not picking up on the signs sooner, and she now started to wonder if it was maybe because she really didn't want to?

"Gambit may know a few card tricks, but he don't need to pull nothin' like dat wit' the ladies." Gambit told her, "'Sides, it was just one little kiss."

"With me, there is no such thing as a 'little' kiss." Rogue revealed to him.

"In dat case, plant a big one on Gambit and let him be de judge." Gambit smirked, as he made another small joke with Rogue, just like he did with everyone. But to Rogue, her unique situation was anything but a laughing matter.

To her, it wasn't about whether or not she wanted to kiss him, or any guy for that matter. It was more about the fact that she really didn't have much of a choice when it came to being intimate with someone else.

"Why don't you just go somewhere and leave me the hell alone. Ah don't wanna have to hear anymore of your dumb-ass comments." Rogue said angrily to Gambit, as she walked away from him. Rogue went over to another part of the warehouse, where she sat down next to some crates and faced away from him.

"Look chere, I wasn't tryin' to get you upset or nothin'." Gambit apologized, "I know you gotta be feelin' the sparks goin' off between us too, but I didn't mean to push t'ings faster than you was ready for."

As she sat there, Rogue started to cool down when she thought about how, despite the way that she had first met Gambit in Agarashima, he had fought alongside her and Logan in the alley. He had even brought her to the warehouse with him to keep her safe, after Logan had told her to leave. He could've easily ditched her at anytime, to make traveling a lot easier for himself and to ensure his own safety.

"It's not your fault, Ah've just got my own issues about people touching me." Rogue responded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anything like dat happened to you. I guess people can be really sick sometimes, non." Gambit sincerely said to her, as he took her comment to mean something entirely different than what Rogue had meant them to.

"No, it's not anything like that." Rogue said, as she turned back around. She gave Gambit a partial-smile, feeling appreciative of his seemingly genuine concern.

"Then, what're you talkin' 'bout?" Gambit asked her.

"It has to do with my mutant power." Rogue began, "When Ah found out Ah was a mutant, Ah learned Ah wasn't blessed with the ability to make things glow and explode, or make ice sculptures just by thinking about it, or shoot fireworks from my hands, or walk through walls. All Ah got was the power to kill whatever person came into close contact with me."

"You mean, like a death-wish power or somethin'?" Gambit asked her.

"Not quite. See, Ah suck the life right out of anyone that makes skin-to-skin contact with me. The first boy Ah ever kissed ended up in a coma because of it," Rogue continued, "And it almost happened a second time with another guy Ah was dating. We were up in his room and Ah was stupid enough to think Ah could control it. Luckily, Ah was able to pull away before it did any permanent damage to him. After that, Ah swore Ah wouldn't ever touch another living person until Ah was sure it was safe."

"Maybe Gambit is stronger than you give him credit for?" Gambit smirked again.

"Maybe Gambit's going to find out if Ah punch as hard with my left hand as Ah do with my right, if he doesn't cut it out?" Rogue warned him.

"All right, All right," Gambit smiled as he conceded, "So, this school you was tellin' me about, how you manage t'find it anyhow?"

"More like it found me." Rogue said, as she started a brief description of her life over the last year and a half, "After Ah put Cody, the first guy Ah was tellin' you about in a coma, Ah ran away from home. Ah got as far north as Laughlin City in Canada, before Ah ran out of money. That's where Ah met Logan. He took me in, reluctantly at first, and we became really close. We ran into some trouble, and the people that run the school found the both of us. After that, Logan promised he'd always look out for me, and he knows Ah'd do the same thing for him. Ah thought we were like a team, the two of us. But tonight, it was like he suddenly forgot all of that."

"I don't know what was up wit' your friend tonight, but it's been my experience that t'ings have to change eventually. Dat's just how life is." Gambit told her.

"And that's your expert opinion, huh?" Rogue said, as she disagreed

"I ain't claimin' to be an expert in anythin'. I'm just talkin' about how t'ings ended up changin' between me and de people I was close to in my life." Gambit responded.

"And what about that life? Ah've told you about myself, but Ah still don't know anything about you." Rogue pointed out.

"What you want to know?" Gambit replied.

"Well, how did you become a career criminal at such a young age, for starters?" Rogue said, as she reminded him of his break-in at Mariko's home.

"Been raised like dat since before I could walk." Gambit started, "I come from a family of t'ieves, and they taught me how t'be de best in all de world."

"You talk like you're proud of that fact." Rogue responded.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Gambit challenged her, "De Thieves' Guild is de finest and most powerful family in all of New Orleans, and we're known world-wide as de best t'ieves alive."

"It still isn't right, that's why." Rogue explained, "You can't just go around stealing things from honest folks."

"And what would you have me do, just quit?" Gambit asked her.

"Yeah." Rogue said simply.

"It's not dat simple. This is who I am, this is who I was raised to be." Gambit replied, "Bein' a t'ief is all I know. Some things you just can't change."

"You can change, if you really want to." Rogue said, as Gambit came and sat back down next to her again.

"For someone who's so willin' to punch my lights out, you sure are concerned about my moral character. Why's dat?" Gambit inquired.

"Ah don't know, Ah guess it's because you seem like you could be a half-way decent guy, underneath that scoundrel exterior of yours." Rogue grinned, "That, and Ah suppose everyone deserves a second-chance."

"So, you're my second-chance, huh?" Gambit smiled, "It's funny you even brought dat subject up. De only reason I took dat job from de Silver Samurai in the first place was t'get outta New Orleans for a while."

"How come?" Rogue asked.

"There was dis girl I was seein' back home, a real nice girl. But her Daddy was none too happy about de fact his little girl was goin' wit' a 'no-good t'ief'." Gambit began, "See, her family's part of a group called de Assassin's Guild, de deadliest group of hired killers that side of de Mason-Dixon, and they don't get along wit' de Thieves' Guild at all. Our two families been at war wit' each other for so long, dat even they don't remember why anymore. I was naïve enough to think dat the love de two of us felt for each other would be enough to overcome all those years of hatred. But they proved me wrong."

"Sounds pretty horrible." Rogue commented, as she sat against the crates with her knees pulled up close to her. She had her face resting against her hands, listening intensely to Gambit's tale of star-crossed love.

"Dat ain't even de worst part. Belladonna, dat's her name, also had a brother dat didn't like de idea of us bein' together either. One night, he happens to find me and her together, and he comes at me wit' a sword. So, we fight right then and there, and he says dat only one of us was gonna walk away from it still breathin'." Gambit told her, as he paused for a moment.

"As you can see, I still got a use for oxygen. I tried to explain to both of our family's dat I didn't want to kill him, dat it was self-defense. But all both sides could t'ink about was revenge and continuin' their squabble, business as usual. Later on, my Daddy told me dat it probably be a good idea if I left New Orleans, and never returned. Poor Belle, she was already traumatized by de fact dat I killed her brother. When I told her I was leavin', she called me a coward, and every other name under de sun. Then she say dat she don't ever want t'see my face again! So, I took de first job offer dat had a one-way ticket out of town, and here I am."

As Gambit recited what had happened to him before leaving New Orleans, he was staring off into space recalling the image of each memory that had been etched into his mind, while he described them to Rogue. When he finished and returned back to the present, he looked over in Rogue's direction and saw something he wasn't expecting.

"Rogue, chere, why you cryin'?" Gambit asked her.

"Now Ah can understand why you'd have such a cynical attitude. Even though you tried to change both your and Belladonna's families, in the end they turned the girl that you loved against you. And then you had to leave your home on top of that. It just sounds so sad and unfair." Rogue answered, as she wiped the tears that were streaming down her face.

To a casual observer whom didn't know her, on the surface it might appear that Rogue's greatest gift was her ability to drain the life and powers of another person, or her capability to inflict a tremendous amount of physical damage on a foe. However, her greatest gift would probably be her ability to sympathize with another's pain, despite the fact that she had so much inner-turmoil of her own to deal with.

"De way you actin', I suppose Shakespeare himself couldn't have come up wit' anythin' more tragic, non?" Gambit smiled again, as he pulled a handkerchief from one of his pockets and helped Rogue to dry her eyes.

After Rogue had calmed down, Gambit made an observation about her.

"You know, you're somethin' else. Gettin' all broken up over someone else's heartache." Gambit told her.

"You must think it's pretty stupid, huh?" Rogue responded, as she felt a little embarrassed.

"Nah." Gambit continued smiling, as he proceeded to stroke her hair, "I t'ink it's de sweetest thing I ever seen."

Gambit and Rogue continued talking, even though it wasn't necessarily about important details of their lives. They talked a little about their hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. But mainly, they talked about whatever topic happened to spring to mind, and their conversation lasted the entire night.

By the next morning, if Rogue had previously thought that the sensation of Gambit feeling like an old friend was just a figment of her imagination, she now knew it was a lot closer to becoming reality…

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In the very late evening hours at a moderate-sized home outside of Tokyo, Detective Takimoto of the police precinct in the Ginza district arrived to pay the home's owner a very important visit.

After being let inside by a housekeeper, the detective walked inside, where he was led to a meditation room currently in use by the owner.

"Mr. Yoshida?" Detective Takimoto asked, as he tried to get his attention.

"To what do I owe this intrusion?" Shiro Yoshida said, as he looked up at the detective. Shiro had been sitting in an area on the floor, busy with his meditation exercises.

"I've just come from the scene of a major disturbance in the Ginza district. There is big trouble, I am afraid." Takimoto replied.

"In case you have not noticed, you are the officer of the law, not me. Why are you telling me of this?" Shiro asked him.

"Because, I have an alley full of dead ninjas, and they were apparently some of your old friends, the Hand. It appears that someone, or a group of someone's, went through them with some new type of triple-sided blade." The Detective replied.

"The Hand are far from being friend's of mine. But I ask again, why are you telling me this? The only reason that I fought that group of assassins before was to repay my debt to the Japanese government, for their help in solving the problems that my and my sister's mutant powers were causing us. I believe that our debt was paid in full, and quite some time ago." Shiro said, as he looked back down and started his meditation again, "I believe you can find your way out."

"I just thought that you might be interested, since the word that I've been getting from informants on the street is that a relative of yours, Lady Mariko Yashida, was the intended target of this hit-squad that we found hacked to pieces." Detective Takimoto revealed.

"Is she alright?" Shiro asked with a concerned expression, as he looked back up from his meditation.

"We believe so, at least for the time-being. We sent some officers over to her penthouse in Tokyo to check on her, but she was reluctant to go into any details with them, almost as though she were hiding something. Normally, this kind of matter would get sent to the special investigations unit, but since I'm the resident expert in the strange occurrences that go on in this city, the chief has put this case squarely in my lap. I thought that perhaps you wouldn't mind going over to see if Ms. Yashida is really okay, and if she can give you any further details that might be helpful in my investigation." Detective Takimoto asked him.

"Detective, **Sunfire** will soon know exactly what is going on!" Shiro said, as he stood up in the meditation room.

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Next Chapter: After the Hand's surprising defeat by Logan & Co., the Silver Samurai decides to bring in the big guns…


	12. Getting it all out into the open

A/N: Special, special thanks to everyone for their reviews-

**Angel of The Fallen Stars**- Thanks for the review and I'm glad that I could help…

**Star-of-Chaos**- Happy you liked the line. I figure, if it makes me laugh then hopefully someone else will think it's funny too.

**Moon Comix**- K.I.S.S.I.N.G.?  First comes love…then comes an ambulance taking Remy away in a coma. But, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

**enchantedlight**- Of course you did, Romy 4-ever!

**mela**- Glad you liked it…

**Episodic**- Remy needs a good smack every now and then, just to keep things in perspective.

An old western? You may not be too far off there…

And fat? No Way!

**Lucas'sgirl**- I agree, sometimes I think Jean tends to get too much of the focus, which I think might actually be to her detriment. And once again, Romy 4-ever!

**ishandahalf**- I thought it was a good way of them getting to know each other. As far as Belladonna, hey anything's possible. She really might've been a sweet and nice girl when she was dating Remy.

But as Remy may eventually find out, it doesn't mean she's that way anymore…

**Leafee LeBeau**- Glad you loved the story so far. I agree, I think Rogue and Gambit should be together in the next movie too!

**Pandora's Sorrow**- Glad you loved it! More action and drama are on the way.

**Jean1**- Rogue and Logan's relationship are going through some changes, something I think they're both going to realize. I'm glad you liked the conversation. Sometimes, I think Rogue and Remy just looking at each other could be interesting, if it's done right.

As far as your last point, let's go see who they do run into…

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The morning after the chaos of the previous night ushered in a bright new day over Tokyo, Japan. At the estate of Keniuchio Harada, a meeting of the Jigoku Underworld was set to soon take place. It was a gathering of the criminal families and groups that controlled almost every illegal activity and vice within Tokyo, and in most of the surrounding region. 

Harada had originally scheduled the meeting a few days beforehand, anticipating that he would make the formal announcement that he had secured his own powerbase by eliminating his sister. He would inform them that he now had full control of the Clan Yashida, meaning that he now had control of its financial assets, as well as the political connections afforded to the Daimyo of the Clan.

As Harada walked into the large room inside of his home where he usually conducted his most important meetings, he was forced to accept the fact that he would not be able to make such a declaration this day.

"Harada, what is this that we are hearing about your failure in securing complete control over the Clan Yashida?" Sadichi, a man that controlled the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) in the Ginza district asked, as he sat at a long table with half a dozen other underworld leaders.

"It is merely a temporary setback. One, which will be rectified in a swift and timely manner, I assure you." Harada answered as he walked inside, trying to reassure his peers.

"We have also heard that the Hand, whom you seem to have placed such tremendous faith in, were decimated by a thief, an animal, and a girl, all of whom were foreigners." Another man at the table named Akio sneered, "Perhaps we should reconsider whether or not to continue your tenure as head of the Jigoku dynasty, especially if you cannot even manage to deal with your own sister and these interlopers."

With that statement, Harada moved like lightning and jumped about six feet in the air, doing a front somersault as he flew across the table. Harada landed right behind Akio, and quickly made his feelings known regarding the man's assertion about his leadership ability.

"Ever question me in such a tone again, and you will not even be given the chance to apologize, as I am graciously affording you the opportunity to do now!" Harada told him, as he held a medium-sized knife to the Akio's throat.

"Let him go, Harada." Another, older man named Jakuchu, who controlled a good portion of the Shinjuku district said to him, "We do not have the luxury of time to indulge you in your desire to constantly retaliate any affronts to your honor. Every day that passes without us consolidating power leaves us susceptible to our enemies. We will deal with your sister and these Gaijin immediately."

Harada released Akio, then informed his cohorts that the building where the Yashida penthouse was located would now be impregnable, following the Hand's failed assassination attempt on his sister. But, Jakuchu told them that infiltrating the structure would not be necessary. At that point, Jakuchu began to reveal his ruthless plan on how to rid them of Mariko Yashida, and whatever rag-tag bunch that now fought in her defense.

Once and for all…

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Meanwhile on the streets of Tokyo, a young pair steadily made their way through the city, a city that was very far from home.

"Ah don't think we're bein' followed. What do you think?" Rogue asked, as she and Gambit made their way across the city, via side-streets and alleyways.

"It don't seem like it, but it don't hurt t'play it safe for now." Gambit replied, as they continued on.

"Logan mentioned something about Mariko having a penthouse here in Tokyo." Rogue told him.

"Yeah, I know where it is. I learned about it de other day when I was askin' 'round about her. Come on, I t'ink it's dis way." Gambit responded, as they were now about two blocks from where he believed Mariko's suite was.

They walked on, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Finally, Gambit and Rogue made it to the huge twenty-story building where Mariko and Logan were, and walked inside through the huge front entrance.

"We're here to see Ms. Yashida." Rogue said, as she and Gambit stood in front of the receptionist's desk within the sprawling lobby, "We're friends of her's."

The receptionist took one look at the pair, whose clothing was slightly tattered like they had been in a fight, and made a phone call. Then she spoke to them.

"It will be just one moment." The receptionist told them.

But in less than a moment, Rogue and Gambit were quickly surrounded by about eight to ten rather large men, who appeared to be the building's security.

"My car is de red one out front. Make sure y'all are careful not t'dent it." Gambit joked, as he tried to lighten the very intense mood of the men around him.

"Gambit, Ah don't think now is a good time for that." Rogue told him, "These guys look pretty serious."

"Please, follow us. Lady Mariko has been awaiting your arrival, Rogue." One of the men said to her.

"How do you know who Ah am?" Rogue inquired.

"You fit exactly the description that she gave us. 'A young girl in a dark green leather jacket, with auburn hair and accented with a single white streak.' Not many people would miss a person like that." The bodyguard replied, "That, and she said that you might be traveling with a rather 'unsavory' character dressed in a long brown trench coat."

"Nice t'see my reputation precedes me." Gambit smiled, as he, Rogue, and a few of the bodyguard's stepped into a waiting elevator.

---------------------------------------------

While Rogue and Gambit were now on their way up to the suite at the top level of the building, Mariko and Logan were just now learning of the news that Rogue had made it back in one piece.

"Perhaps now you will go and lie back down, and get some rest." Mariko said, as she brought each of them a cup of herbal tea from the kitchen, "It felt as though you hardly got any sleep at all last night."

"Thanks," Logan said, as he took the cup from her and then responded, "My healin' factor works the same, whether I'm lyin' down, standin', or sittin'. Plus, I wanna make sure Rogue is okay when she gets here."

Almost on cue, Mariko and Logan heard a voice call out from the outside of the suite, signaling their arrival.

"No need t'worry, Gambit is back safe and sound." Gambit flamboyantly said, as the entrance opened.

"Uh-oh, better hide everything that ain't already bolted down, M'iko, else it might end up on the back of a milk carton." Logan said to her, as he instantly recognized the voice and scent of the young thief from New Orleans.

"Dis a real nice place you got here." Gambit said to Mariko.

"What, you sizin' the place up for your next heist?" Logan coldly replied from inside of the living room.

"Your words are like a dagger into my poor heart, m'sieur. I was merely tryin' t'pay de lady of de house a compliment." Gambit sarcastically replied, as he stood near the room's entrance with a huge smile, which only seemed to further antagonize Logan.

"You can compliment the lady, and her home, by not lettin' the door hit you in the…backside on your way out." Logan told him, as he raised his voice a little.

"Logan-san, that is no way to treat a guest." Mariko scolded him.

"Yeah, cut Remy some slack." Rogue added, as she walked into the living room where Logan and Mariko were seated.

"Guest? Remy? What is it about this guy that makes you ladies always feel the need to go jumpin' to his defense? In case you forgot, this guy is the thief that broke into your house the other week. He's also the same guy that was workin' for your brother, the guy that tried to have us killed last night." Logan reminded them.

With that statement, Gambit's smile disappeared and he didn't bother to respond to Logan. How could he? What Logan said was the truth, from a technical standpoint. But in Rogue's mind, technicalities didn't really hold much weight.

"You got some nerve pullin' that 'mightier-than-thou' crap! You're the last person that should be trying to put down someone else for making a mistake." Rogue yelled at Logan, as she let her disapproval of his attitude towards Gambit be known, "Gambit may not be perfect, but at least he doesn't ditch his friends at the drop of a hat, unlike some other people Ah know!"

"Rogue…I…" Logan started, but didn't get the chance to finish.

Rogue left the living room in a huff, and headed outside to the balcony of the penthouse to get some fresh air.

"Logan, perhaps you should go and talk to her?" Mariko suggested.

Logan agreed and left to follow Rogue outside, leaving only Mariko and Gambit together in the living room. There was a moment of silence, and then Mariko spoke to him.

"Would you like me to get you anything?" Mariko asked him, as she stood up from the sofa where she had been sitting.

"You sure you wanna be leavin' a t'ief like me in here alone? What if you come back and de T.V.'s missin', or somethin'?" Gambit sarcastically remarked, still stinging from Logan's comments.

"I am not concerned about that, and I would like to think that I am a fairly good judge of a person's character." Mariko replied, as she walked over and stood only a few feet from Gambit, "In spite of your previous association with my brother, I watched last night as you fought to save my life from the Hand, when you could have just as easily have left. In addition, you also kept Rogue under your protection when you did not have to, for which I am very grateful. I believe your actions are those of a man of honor."

"It's like I said before, de Samurai put a bounty out on me. I just figured I stood a better chance in a fight bein' outnumbered four-to-a hundred than one-to-a hundred, that's all." Gambit said, as he tried to downplay what Mariko seemed to believe about him.

"As you wish." Mariko smiled at him, and then left the room.

Gambit then sat down and started watching the large television inside of the penthouse, while Mariko went and had her servants prepare something for her guests to eat.

"Honor? Me? Better get dat kinda crazy talk outta my head. I ain't got no use for nothin' like that." Gambit thought as he sat there, trying hard to convince himself that he really believed that...

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"Marie." Logan said, as he stepped out onto the balcony high above the city, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah." Rogue said simply, as she leaned forward against the railing and looked ahead at the Tokyo skyline.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for yellin' at you last night." Logan started, as he came over and stood next to her in front of the railing, "Sometimes when the 'Wolverine' comes out, I can't help but revert back to that mindset from my Weapon X days and all I can think about is the fight. But when I'm wrong, I admit it darlin'."

"Ah understand. And Ah do have a real vague feeling of what it's like in that head of yours." Rogue replied, referring to the few days that she spent with Logan's memories and personality inside of her, following the X-Men's return from Liberty Island.

Rogue then turned away from the city's skyline, and finally looked directly at Logan.

"But, that's not what really hurt. What keeps botherin' me is the fact that you always say that Ah'm this great student of yours, but sometimes you act like you don't really believe it." Rogue confessed.

"I ain't ever lied to you about how much you've learned, or about how good I think you are." Logan replied, "And I never want you to feel like that."

"Maybe not intentionally." Rogue told him, "But sometimes, when you and Peter are running simulations in the Danger Room together, Ah slip into the control booth and watch you two. Ah never saw you makin' a fuss over whether or not he's safe in there, like you do with me."

"Darlin' you gotta understand, Colossus is an entirely different case. Hell, sometimes I'm more scared about me gettin' hurt in those sessions, than I am about him. The kid's literally a man of steel." Logan pointed out.

"Ah understand that too. It's just that you treat him like…" Rogue continued, but was interrupted.

"…That I treat him like an X-Man." Logan said, as he finished her sentence, and finally got the point that she had been trying to make.

"Ah guess that's it." Rogue answered, as she looked back down to the street below.

"I didn't realize I was makin' such a difference between you, and the rest of the kids." Logan admitted, "I care about you awful deep, and I just wanna keep you safe. But you did volunteer to join the X-Men, and I suppose it ain't fair of me to hold you back from that, unintentional or otherwise. From now on, I'm gonna do my best to treat you as an equal partner, an equal teammate, and as an equal X-Man."

"Actually, Ah would be an equal X-Woman." Rogue said, as the smile that Logan loved so much returned to her face, "Or as Kitty would say, 'The non-gender specific term would be X-Person'."

"Lord, then I'd better update my vocabulary before I have to hear another lecture from 'short-stuff' on my chauvinist attitudes." Logan said to Rogue, referencing a previous conversation that he and Kitty Pryde had on the subject, "I had to hear it from her going to, and from, Nova Roma."

"You deserved it too. You shouldn't refer to women as 'broads'." Rogue told Logan, as she reminded him of his comment. It happened on a trip that he, and all of the junior X-Men, took to South America right before Rogue and Logan came to Japan. They went there to locate a young girl named Amara Aquilla, whose mutant powers had just emerged in a very dramatic and destructive fashion.

"Hey, I only meant it in a good way." Logan smiled, as he and Rogue had finally straightened things out between them.

They talked for a little while longer on the balcony, before heading back inside. Rogue was feeling extremely tired from a very hectic night, and now just wanted to lie down for a while.

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Later that evening, everyone had finally settled in at the penthouse, as they actually got a chance to relax. Logan and Mariko were snuggling up on the sofa together in front of the TV, while Rogue was sitting in a chair in the living room painting her nails. Remy was fast asleep in one of the numerous guest-rooms in the penthouse, dead-tired from having to constantly fight and avoid the assassins of the Hand over the past few nights. As they sat there, the peaceful setting in the suite was rudely interrupted, when Logan's super-keen sense of hearing detected a small explosion off in the distance.

"Rogue, Mariko, get ready. Somethin's goin' on outside." Logan said, as he jumped to his feet and ran over to one of the numerous windows in the suite.

"Logan, what do you see?" Rogue asked him.

"Some guy flyin' around in the air, and it looks like he set himself on fire on top of that." Logan said, as he looked out of the window.

"On fire?" Mariko said, as she and Rogue got up to join Logan at the window.

As the trio stood there, they saw exactly what Logan had described to them. Then suddenly, they saw a very large explosion in mid-air, and realized that this man was not just putting on an exhibition for show. Someone had fired what appeared to be a rocket or a similar projectile from the top of a nearby building, and this man had just destroyed it with an energy blast. Then they watched as the flying man went over to the rooftop where the shot had originated, and proceeded to blast the shooter.

Upon hearing the explosion outside, Remy had instinctively jumped up and grabbed the two metal components that made up his staff, assembling them before stepping out of the room. As he appeared in the main room he didn't think to grab a shirt, but he still had on the tights that he wore with his outfit. It was a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Rogue, who tried not to be too obvious as she looked at his rippling physique.

"What de hell's goin' on?" Remy asked, as he now made his way over to where the others in the room were.

"There's a guy out here doin' a damn good impersonation of the 'Human Torch'." Logan said, as he watched the mystery man fight with numerous individuals, who were all on nearby rooftops.

"Ah wonder why he's blastin' those guys like that?" Rogue asked.

"I don't know, but I intend to go find the answer from whoever that joker is." Logan said, as he turned in the direction where the door was, but stopped when Mariko spoke to him.

"He is called Sunfire." Mariko stated, as she turned away from the window towards Logan, "But his name is Shiro Yoshida."

"You mean that cousin you were tellin' me about?" Logan replied.

"Indeed, the very same." Mariko confirmed, "If there is a threat great enough to provoke him into actually using his mutant powers, then our situation has gotten even worse, as impossible as that might sound."

As Rogue, Logan, and Remy continued to watch Sunfire obliterate targets outside, Mariko's words hung heavily over her. She now thought about what had to be done in order to put a stop to the hostility that seemed to be spiraling out control, a hostility that had been created by the feud that she and her brother were now embroiled in…

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Next Chapter: What happens when you throw a Canadian bruiser, a Cajun thief, and one of the most powerful mutants in Japan, all together in one room? Plus, Mariko makes the most difficult decision of her life, and there's nothing Logan can do to change her mind…


	13. Line In The Sand

A/N: Special thanks to everyone for your reviews-

**Star-of-Chaos**- Yeah, I don't see the rest of the team going along with that whole 'X-Person's' name either. Anyways, Logan and Rogue were just being silly with each other, after getting over all of the drama between them.

**Moon Comix**- Hey, what can I say, I'm just evil that way. But, at least I don't make you wait three years between installments (like the movies have done so far).

**enchantedlight**- Glad you liked it.

**Lady Zymurgy**- Glad you liked it too.

**Episodic**- Well, then get ready to (hopefully) have the suspense released. As far as the Hellfire Club/Phoenix Saga, I think they're going to include them, but it'll probably be somewhat different than the comics. In fact, I remember going to see X2 in the theatres and the part where they show Dr. Henry McCoy talking on the TV, actually had him debating a character named Dr. Sebastian Shaw. But in the DVD version, Shaw's part is missing. The only thing I can assume is that they are going to introduce the character, and possibly the rest of the Hellfire Club, in a different way.

**ishandahalf**- We all know that Rogue isn't going to let someone beat up on her Remy, unless he deserves it. And in that case, she'll be the one to knock him around a little. Glad you liked him downplaying his honor and showing off his rippling physique, but what if he decides to downplay his rippling physique? That's one to think about…

**heyheymandarae**- I understand where you're coming from. I had actually lost interest in the X-Men for a few years, but the first movie instantly drew me back in. Glad you liked the ROMY too.

**Angel of The Fallen Stars**- Glad you liked it, and who knows, you might just get your wish…

**Lucas'sgirl**- Gambit seems to have that effect on people, I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, I intentionally try to stay away from that whole Logan/Rogue situation you're talking about whenever possible, most of the time it just kinda creeps me out. Plus, the last thing I ever want to see is Logan and Gambit fighting over her, it'd just seem really wrong.

**Jean1**- Yeah, when I read that old comic issue where Mariko accepted Rogue, no questions asked, it cemented her in my mind as one of my favorite characters. And that's the main reason I included the same kind of scenario in this story. Mariko had every reason to agree with Logan, but her heart always seemed to be bigger than that and she reached out to Remy at a moment where he really needed a little kindness.

**strawberrieswillruletheworld**- In X2, if you look at the list of names on Deathstrike's computer, two of the names are Remy Lebeau and Keniuchio Harada. These two individuals are Gambit and the Silver Samurai, respectively, two of the main characters in this story. I'm assuming that you haven't read any X-Men comics or related stories, but the movies are heavily based on them, and a lot of the characters that I'm using were either introduced in the X-Men comics, or became prominent figures in them. Sunfire was at one time an X-Man himself, Wolverine had a run-in with Mariko Yashida's father, Shingen Yashida, and also her half-brother the Silver Samurai. In addition, Logan and Mariko had a romance that lasted for many years afterwards. This story is a spinoff of another fanfic I've been writing, which includes many of the X-Men, but this story was intentionally supposed to be a Logan/Rogue solo-type story away from the rest of the X-Men.

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Logan, Mariko, Remy, and Rogue all watched in awe, as the super-powered mutant called Sunfire put on a spectacular display of his abilities outside of Mariko's penthouse residence. As he flew from rooftop to rooftop hitting various targets, bright flashes of plasma radiation lit up the night sky in the upper class Meguro district of Tokyo.

His demonstration was, however, over within a matter of a few minutes.

The men that had been sent there by the crime-lord Jakuchu either lay defeated on the rooftops of the various buildings, or had dropped their weapons and made good on a hasty escape. And soon, Sunfire himself had disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

"Looks like your cousin likes to fight 'n run." Logan said, as the group saw that Sunfire was no longer in view and that a quickly fading trail of fire now marked his exit.

"I am certain that he will be along shortly." Mariko replied.

"You got any idea who he was fighting with?" Rogue asked her.

"Prob'bly Yakuza, if ya ask me." Remy stated.

"Really?" Logan skeptically asked, as he looked over at Remy.

"He is most likely correct." Mariko confirmed.

"Told ya so." Remy smirked.

"In my brother's desire to expand his criminal interests in Japan, he has forged an alliance with other members of the Japanese mafia." Mariko continued, "While Tokyo serves as the nexus for their activities, they desire to move beyond the local area, and eventually beyond our nation's borders. That is why my brother is so eager to remove me as the head of the Clan Yashida."

"What would your family have to do with that?" Rogue asked, as the group went back into the main part of the living room.

Mariko sat back down on the sofa, while Logan knelt down on the side of it next to her, still keeping an ear out for any new signs of trouble. Rogue went back to the chair that she had been in previously, sitting in it Indian-style. And Remy stayed over by the window, still keeping watch outside as he listened to Mariko.

"The Clan Yashida can trace its roots back to the days of feudal Japan, when Samurai's and Warlord's controlled our land." Mariko started, "As a means of survival, vulnerable families would ally themselves together in clans, as a way to ensure their protection and also increase the prosperity of all of its members. In time our Clan's power increased to the point where it made us the most dominant in Japan, with the exception being the Imperial Family of course. Later, as Japan moved into a more modern era, those ties within our Clan remained strong and ingratiated themselves into the business and political realms. We still possess a huge amount of financial wealth, as well as vast political influence within and outside of our nation. It is something which Harada would like to have access to once again."

"Once again?" Logan asked her, as Mariko paused before she continued.

"At one time, my half-brother was himself the head of the Clan Yashida." Mariko revealed, "When our father died, Shingen Yashida had willed all of our family's assets, including the title of Daimyo, to me. But I was no more than fourteen, and I was clearly not ready to assume such a huge responsibility. Up until that point, I had only heard vague references about Keniuchio Harada's existence. When he showed up and offered to take care of everything, I put faith in him to be a man of honor, just as I had believed our father to be. I named Harada as my trustee, letting him act on my behalf until I was old enough to manage things on my own. What I did not know was that he, and now apparently my father, were deeply involved in the Jigoku criminal underworld. Once I learned of what was going on many years later, I had the binding agreement that named my brother as my trustee broken, and told him that I wanted nothing more to do with him. I have spent the years since trying to rid my family of all of the criminal entanglements that he involved the Clan Yashida in. It is the main reason that I took a failing shipping business that my father had left to me and started Yashida International. It was a means to raise enough capital to buy out those criminal enterprises, and then shut them down."

Mariko let out a sigh, and then continued.

"What I also did not know was that there was a clause in those papers that I had signed as a young girl. It stated that if I, for any reason and at any point, were unable to carry out my duties as Daimyo of the Clan, that those powers would automatically revert back to my half-brother. I am left to assume that death would qualify as a reason why I would no longer be able to fulfill my obligations."

"Makes sense to me, darlin'." Logan commented.

"Harada has always been jealous of the fact that our father named me as his sole heir, and not him. He must have learned of my recent meeting with Nabatone Yokuse, one of the top crime bosses within the Yakuza. If Yokuse and I can come to terms of settlement, then I can break the Clan from many of its ties with the Jigoku underworld, and this has apparently incensed Harada. He and the other members of the Yakuza have become so desperate to get control of the Clan Yashida that they will stop at nothing, even if it means my death." Mariko said, as she finished

"Sounds like de same kinda t'ing dat goes on back home in New Orleans." Remy said, as he continued looking out of the large pane window, with his staff in hand.

As soon as Remy said that, the door to the front entrance of the suite flew open. There stood a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, with jet-black hair that was tied back into a ponytail. His outfit consisted of a pair of dark tan pants, a pair of black gloves, and a red long-sleeve leather top with numerous buckles that ran down the chest and had a small Japanese flag on the right shoulder.

"Mariko, would you care to inform me as to what is going on?" Shiro Yoshida asked, as he stood near the entrance.

Before Mariko could answer his question, Shiro then pointed to an object that he had in his grasp.

"One of the gangsters that I was fighting with dropped this outside. It appears that they were preparing to demolish this entire complex, when I happened upon them."

In his hand, he held a top-of-the-line rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, which had been bought on the Asian black market.

"The answer should be obvious. My half-brother has declared war against his own family." Mariko finally responded, as she got up and walked towards her cousin, "And as Rogue, Gambit, and Logan can attest to, anyone else that stands in his way."

Shiro then looked at the other individuals in the room, not recognizing any of their faces.

"Who are all of these…strangers?" Shiro asked Mariko, in an indignant tone.

"They are guests' in my home, whom I expect you to treat accordingly." Mariko quickly replied, annoyed at how Shiro had referred to Logan, Rogue and Remy.

"Very well," Shiro said, as that was the closest to an apology that they were likely to hear from him, "But what I really want to know is why did I have to learn of what has been going on from the police. You should have contacted me at the first sign of trouble. I serve the Lord of the Clan Yashida, and that means my services are always at your disposal, Cousin."

"I had hoped to settle matters with my brother, before our feud escalated into open warfare. But that has become inevitable, and the time has come to decide who will control the future of our family." Mariko responded.

"Then I will fight by your side, to ensure that the honor and dignity of the Clan is maintained against my criminal half-cousin." Shiro pledged to her.

"What are we waitin' for? Let's go start bustin' some heads." Logan, who had been fairly silent for a while, asserted.

"It will not be that easy of a task. The combined efforts of the Hand and Yakuza will prove quite formidable." Shiro told Logan.

"So, what's your point, bub?" Logan replied, as he folded his arms in front of him, "We went up against those ninjas last night, and it looks those mobsters outside got all of you they could handle."

"You faced the Hand?" Shiro said, unbelievingly, "You and what army?"

"With the young lady over to your right and the guy by the window, and with these..." Logan said, as he pointed at Rogue and Gambit, before popping his claws out of his left hand.

"So, you are the one that Detective Takimoto was speaking of," Shiro said, as he recalled the detective mentioning that the ninjas found in the alleyway were cut apart by some sort of triple-edged blade, "The one who is responsible for that swath of destruction left in the Ginza district."

"That seems to be my callin' card." Logan smirked, as he turned from Shiro back to Mariko, "Just tell us what hole your brother is hidin' in, and we'll put him down for the count."

"I will do better than that, I will take you there." Mariko replied, "It is time that I faced Harada, and settled this in person."

"Wait a minute," Logan said, surprised by Mariko's response, "It's way too dangerous for you to be out there."

"I realize that, but I cannot sit idly by and watch others risk their lives, while I do nothing." Mariko resolved, "This fight is to defend my family, and as it's leader it is a responsibility that I must uphold, regardless of the peril."

Logan wanted to continue arguing the point with Mariko. But, after the talk that he had with Rogue earlier, he realized that it would have been just as wrong to try and keep Mariko from participating.

"All right, but I ain't lettin' you out of my sight." Logan said, as he conceded, "Let's start gettin' a battle plan together."

"It's 'bout time we quit runnin' around here with a bulls-eye on our backs." Remy stated, as he came over from the window, and stood behind the chair that Rogue was sitting in.

"I know the most about Harada's estate, and I can show you where the weaknesses in his defenses will be." Mariko said, as she began to sketch a simple diagram for the others on a small note pad.

While Mariko began to draw out their strategy, Logan turned towards Rogue.

"We're gonna need our gear, but it's back at the hotel. Why don't you get it and bring it back here?" Logan asked her.

"You mean, all by myself?" Rogue sarcastically asked, waiting to see what Logan was going to say.

"You're an X-Man, you know how to handle yourself." Logan smiled as he looked back down at Mariko's sketch, showing Rogue that he intended to live up to the promise that he had made to her earlier, "Besides, I figured you'd be takin' the Cajun with you."

While Logan, Shiro, and Mariko discussed a plan to now turn the prey into the hunter, Remy and Rogue got dressed and left Mariko's penthouse suite, heading for the Royal Prince Hotel.

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After a half-hour jaunt, Gambit and Rogue found themselves in an alley outside of the Royal Prince Hotel, which was located in the main tourist section of the Ginza district. As Rogue was about to head towards the hotel's front entrance, Gambit immediately stopped her.

"What's the matter?" Rogue asked, as Gambit stood next to her in the alley and grabbed her by the arm.

"It's a good t'ing your friend sent me wit' you." Gambit told her, "We been goin' out of our way walkin' through back alleys and down side-streets for a reason. What if someone in there is waitin' on us?"

"Don't you think you're bein' a little paranoid?" Rogue asked him.

"Maybe. But after what we been through in de last twenty-four hours, I t'ink my paranoia might be justified." Gambit replied.

"Ah see your point." Rogue acknowledged, "Ah guess Ah still got a lot to learn, huh?" Rogue apologized to him.

"I guess I still got a lot t'teach you, non?" Gambit flirted with Rogue, as he gently caressed her arm.

Rogue and Gambit stood in that position for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. Rogue started to feel a strange, yet happy, sensation come over her once again. But, this time was different than the way that she felt back at the warehouse. Rogue knew that she wasn't being hypnotized or brainwashed, the feeling this time felt…different.

"Um, maybe we should go get our stuff, so we can get back?" Rogue said, as she finally snapped out of her blissful state and remembered the reason why she and Gambit had come to the hotel.

"I s'ppose dat we should." Gambit responded, as he let her arm go and ran over to a ladder that hung from the fire escape of the hotel. He took a running leap and grabbed the ladder that was a few feet above them, and then brought it down to ground level.

"Ladies first." Gambit smirked, as he held the ladder in place for her.

"Why thank you!" Rogue told him mockingly, as she replied in a southern accent that was intentionally strong, even for her.

Rogue and Gambit made their way up the fire escape, first going to the window outside of her hotel room. Gambit examined the window, taking precaution to make sure that it hadn't been tampered with or booby-trapped. When it checked out clean, he used a lifetime's worth of Thieves Guild education to make their way in.

"It'll just take me a minute." Rogue said, as she hurriedly went through the room to grab the bag that contained her uniform, and also grab a few other essential items.

"Dis place ain't the palace Mariko's suite looks like, but it's none too shabby." Gambit said, as he inspected the interior of the hotel room, "It's definitely nicer than some of de places I done found myself in."

"Uh-huh." Rogue replied simply, as she continued to gather her things.

Within a matter of minutes, Gambit and Rogue exited her hotel room. Then they went in and out of the window to Logan's room in the same amount of time. The pair went back down the fire escape and started back towards the penthouse, where Gambit's curiosity got the better of him.

"Y'all got a leather fetish or somethin'?" Gambit asked her. While Rogue was carrying her own bag, Gambit carried the duffle bag containing Logan's belongings. He peeked inside the open top of the bag to see what appeared to be a black leather outfit of some sort.

"No, they're just our uniforms." Rogue replied as they continued on.

"School uniforms made outta leather? What do the other teachers wear, chains and corsets or somethin'?" Gambit asked.

"They're our X-Men uniforms, actually." Rogue clarified for him.

"De 'Wild man' called you dat earlier, what's it s'pposed to mean?" Gambit continued asking.

Rogue then realized that she had neglected to tell Gambit about the other things what went on behind the scenes at Xavier's School for the Gifted. So, she gave him a brief explanation of the X-Men and what they did, while the two of them walked along the side-streets of Tokyo. After hearing what Rogue had told him, the truth to Gambit actually seemed a lot less exciting than his original assumptions about Logan's uniform.

"Let's stop here for a sec, I need t'get somethin'." Gambit said, as they stopped in front of a small grocery store.

As they walked inside, Rogue saw Gambit make a straight line for one aisle.

"What're you doin'?" Rogue asked, as she followed him.

"We're about to have a grand ole time wit' de Samurai, so I'm just gettin' a few extra party favors, dat's all." Gambit replied, as he picked up about eight decks of brand new cards and then took them up to the cash register.

"You have big game?" The clerk asked him, with one eyebrow raised.

"You got dat right." Gambit replied, "We're 'bout t'play de biggest game of high-stakes poker you ever seen."

After paying for the cards, Rogue and Gambit left and continued on their trek back to the penthouse.

"Dat cashier sure was lookin' at me funny." Gambit commented, as they walked together side by side.

"Ah'd look at you funny too. Ah mean c'mon, what normal person buys eight decks of cards at a time?" Rogue asked him.

"I guess someone in 'Gambler's Anonymous' dat just fell off de wagon." Gambit smirked. Rogue stopped walking for a moment, surprised that he had actually found a response to her rhetorical question.

"You're unbelievable." Rogue smiled as she looked at him, and then started moving again.

"Ain't I, Chere." Gambit cheerfully responded.

After walking a few more blocks, Gambit told Rogue that he had to make just one last pause in their journey.

"Dis'll be de last one, I promise." Gambit told her.

"You better not be going to buy more playing cards." Rogue said, with a half-smile.

"Nah, dis is somethin' else I t'ink we'll need just as much though." Gambit said, as he left Rogue in an alley that was on one side of the street that he was quickly running across. He made his way over to a store on the other side, which he now realized was closed. Rogue then saw Gambit disappear from sight, as he went behind the building.

After waiting for a few minutes, Rogue saw Gambit come back around the building and walk across the street towards her.

"What was so important over there?" Rogue asked him.

"Dis." Gambit said, as he opened his coat to reveal a beautifully crafted Katana sword underneath, "I got it for you."

"Ah cain't believe you went and stole that!" Rogue loudly shouted at him. Her accent became unintentionally strong this time, as it seemed to do whenever she was perturbed or upset.

"Say dat a little louder, I don't t'ink they heard you back home yet." Gambit responded, "'Sides, I didn't steal it. I left de cash and a note in de register for de store owner, explainin' dat it was an emergency."

"Remy…" Rogue said, not quite believing his story.

"Dis t'ing put me back a pretty penny, but you're definitely worth it." Gambit continued, as he smiled and tried to convince her that he was telling her the truth.

But, Rogue just looked at him sternly.

"C'mon Rogue, I'm tellin' you de truth, I swear it. Scout's honor." Gambit finally told her, as he raised his right hand.

"What do you know about Scout's honor anyways?" Rogue asked in a sarcastic tone. She couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness of his gesture, and Rogue finally took Gambit's word on the subject.

"Some people seem to t'ink I got all kinds o' honor, just lyin' around." Gambit replied, as they started back towards Mariko's Tokyo residence…

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Next Chapter: Showdown with the Silver Samurai!!!


	14. Where Warriors Roam

A/N: Special thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter-

**Moon Comix**- Thank you for the reprieve, hopefully the next chapter doesn't make you regret it.

**Episodic**- Yeah, I picked up on the tension between Bobby and Rogue where Logan was concerned too. Hopefully Gambit will show up in X3, since the rumor I've been hearing is that they are getting a new director, so there's no telling what that might bring. (I guess we can cross our fingers and hope).

**ishandahalf**- To be honest, I think trying to downplay himself for too long would probably kill Remy. Glad you liked the Romy too.

**Blood-Covered-Ivory**- Well, according to the Marveldirectory website, Shiro is actually first cousin's with Shingen Yashida, making him a second cousin to both Mariko and Keniuchio. I just threw in the 'half-cousin' comment as a way of relaying Shiro's disdain for Harada. It's the same with Mariko, she refers to him sometimes as her 'half-brother', whereas most people would just say my brother or my cousin. I would assume that Harada's misuse of their family's name and resources to become a criminal kingpin would most likely have left very bad feelings with Mariko and Shiro, both of whom place such an important emphasis on family and honor. But, I do thank you for bringing it up.

**enchantedlight**- Glad you liked it!

**Jean1**- I'm glad that you like what I've been writing so far. It's been challenging to try and figure out how to relate these characters into a new setting like the movie-verse, while retaining as much of their origins as possible. This is just the way that I figured a movie-verse Rogue and Remy relationship might start out.

**Star-of-Chaos**- I bet it does. The sight of him in those shorts would be enough all on its own.

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"Blue don't really seem t'be your color."

Remy Lebeau made this observation in regards the attire that Rogue was now wearing, as she walked into the living room of Mariko's suite from one of the guest rooms.

"Yeah, well Ah'm stuck with it for the time bein'." Rogue said in response, referring to the fact that she and the other junior level X-Men all wore dark blue leather uniforms trimmed in gray, instead of the black and bronze uniforms that the senior X-Men wore.

"So, y'all actually go out dressed like dat?"

"Well, they are more comfortable than they look." Rogue replied, as she stood and put on the leather gloves that completed the outfit.

"To be honest, t'ings looks pretty damn good from where I'm standin'." Remy replied, as he continued to lean against a desk in the room, making yet another flirtatious comment to her.

"Ah'm glad you think so." Rogue responded with a slight giggle.

While Rogue enjoyed the compliment, Logan entered the room just in time to also hear what Remy had said, and let a small grumble serve as his only response. Rogue then turned towards Logan, and noticed a difference in his uniform.

"Where'd you get that?" Rogue asked Logan.

In their hurry to get in and out of the Royal Prince Hotel, Rogue had simply grabbed Logan's lone duffle bag from his hotel room, barely glancing inside before handing it to Remy. Looking at Logan now, she saw that the sleeves of his uniform had been removed and that the rest of the top had also been altered, making it more form-fitting and allowing Logan increased mobility during a fight.

"I got the idea after seeing how nice of a job Jubilee did in fixin' up Pete's uniform." Logan responded, "So, I asked her if she'd do the same for me, right after we got back from Nova Roma. You know she jumped at the chance to show off her top-notch fashion skills."

"Jubilee is definitely the trend-setter when it comes to clothes. Come to think of it, Ah should've asked her to make some changes to mine too, maybe add a hood to it or somethin'. The Professor didn't seem to mind us tailoring them so that they look a little more individual, but Ah don't think Mr. Summers would have gone along with it, if he had been around." Rogue pointed out.

"Well, 'tight-ass' is gonna have to learn to loosen up one of these days, and it might as well be sooner than later." Logan smirked.

Logan's remark demonstrated that, while he and Scott Summers might have gotten to the point where they could tolerate each other, they were still far from being best friends. Just then, as Logan and Rogue were discussing their wardrobe, Mariko entered the room wearing a simple ensemble consisting of a white, long sleeve silk blouse and black pants.

She was also carrying another accessory with her as well.

"That's a nice piece of hardware you got there." Logan commented, referring to the sword that Mariko had in her hand.

"I thought it best to be prepared, just in case." Mariko replied, as she walked over to Logan.

"You must think I haven't figured out what you got planned." Logan told her, "You intend on goin' up against your brother yourself."

"My intentions are only to confront my brother, and demand that he end his quest for control of the Clan." Mariko responded, "Although, I have serious doubts that he will do so peaceably."

"Unless you got some mutant fightin' ability you neglected to tell me about, you'll be dead inside of five seconds goin' up against Harada." Logan stated, "Just leave him to me."

"I am under no illusion that I am able to match the level of violence that you and my half-brother are capable of, but this is my responsibility and it is my burden to bear." Mariko said, as she stood right in front of Logan and looked up into his eyes.

"M'iko, your burdens are my burdens now. Whatever weight you got to carry, I'm carryin' it with you." Logan solemnly told her, "Besides, I owe 'Chrome-britches' for turnin' me into a sis kebob back at your home."

With that, Mariko and Logan embraced one another after reaching this understanding in their relationship. Shiro soon entered the suite a few minutes afterwards, to inform everyone of the latest.

"I have gathered all of the men that Mariko had assigned here, and have informed them of our plan." Shiro said, as he stood in the room, "I have also spotted rather suspicious looking men stationed outside, most likely sent by the Silver Samurai to maintain surveillance on us."

"Good ole Sammie, tryin' t'go and ruin de surprise we got planned for him. What we need is a good distraction, while we make our way over there." Gambit stated, as he and Rogue stood together near one of the windows in the room.

"Leave that to me." Shiro told them, "The rest of you shall proceed as we discussed earlier."

While Wolverine, Mariko, Gambit, and Rogue made their way to the garage level of the building along with about ten of Mariko's armed bodyguards, Sunfire went outside and activated his mutant ability, generating his 'solar fire' all around his body. He then took flight, which immediately caught the attention of the spies employed by the Silver Samurai.

Sunfire circled high above the city's Meguro district a few times, giving the others enough time to exit the parking garage in two cars and evading the attention of their observers. Once the cars were out of the immediate area, Sunfire himself quickly left the vicinity as well.

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Upon arriving near Harada's sprawling, palatial estate, the two cars that were carrying the gang and Mariko's men suddenly stopped. They sat on a part of the street that was at an incline, allowing them to look down at the compound.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Wolverine asked, as he sat inside of the first limo with Rogue, Mariko, Gambit, and a few of the bodyguards.

When everyone nodded yes, Wolverine proceeded to open the sunroof of the limousine and stand straight up through it. He then lifted the rocket launcher that Sunfire had confiscated earlier onto his shoulder, and aimed for a target at the rear of Harada's estate. Wolverine locked the launcher, pulled the trigger, and watched as the large iron-gate at the back was instantly blown into a million pieces.

"While everyone in there is lookin' for us to come in through the back door, all of you are gonna be watchin' Sunfire's back while he breaks down the front door, and takes out most of the big guns. Me and M'iko are gonna go find an entrance of our own and put an end to this thing with the Silver Samurai, one way or another." Wolverine said, as he and Mariko quickly exited the vehicle.

"Logan…" Rogue said from inside, as the vehicles were about to pull off to go aid Sunfire.

"What's up darlin'?" Wolverine asked.

"Make sure you kick the Silver Samurai's ass for me too." Rogue said as she smiled.

"Will do." Wolverine smiled back, as the window rolled up and the limo went around to the front.

As the car pulled around to the front of the estate, the occupants inside saw Sunfire come streaking by a few yards in front of them, and watched as he continued unabated through the main gates of the estate like a fiery battering ram.

"Dat's our cue." Gambit said, as he, Rogue and the others exited the vehicles and followed Sunfire inside.

Once inside, Sunfire dealt with the members of the Yakuza that were carrying guns, as well as a good number of the many Hand ninjas that were pouring out of the mansion into the front of the grounds.

Meanwhile, Rogue came in alongside Mariko's men, as all of them pulled out their swords and other assorted weapons. Gambit himself was more than ready for the fight as he walked in behind everyone else, holding a number of cards that were charged and ready to fly from his hand.

As the fighting broke out in earnest around the exterior sections of the estate, Wolverine and Mariko found themselves on the outside of the wall that completely surrounded Harada's home.

"Do you intend to climb over this?" Mariko asked Wolverine, as she looked up at the wall that was more that ten feet high.

"Actually, I intend to go right through it." Wolverine answered, as he popped out his adamantium claws and cut an entrance for the two of them through the thick, stone wall.

The pair then had an easy walk towards the main house, since its security force was now otherwise occupied. Once inside, Mariko led Wolverine through the corridors of the mansion, and they eventually found themselves at a door that led to a large dojo within the home.

"You ready?" Wolverine asked Mariko, as his sense of smell confirmed that the individual they had sought out was on the other side of the door.

"Yes." Mariko answered simply, as Wolverine slid the door open.

When Wolverine walked inside next to Mariko, he soon realized that he wasn't the only person that had made a recent apparel change. The Silver Samurai now stood there adorned in a more traditional-looking Samurai's armor, which was chrome and silver in color and had a matching helmet with two large prongs that curved up on each side. On the front of his armor was a large red circle with thick red lines emerging outward from it, the symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan.

"I see you went and got yourself some fancy new duds. Hope it wasn't on my account?" Wolverine said, as he and Mariko walked towards the Samurai, stopping about midway into the room.

"It was in no small part thanks to you, animal." The Silver Samurai replied, "After Jakuchu's men failed, I knew it was only a matter of time before we would have to settle this in person. Following our last encounter, I had this new suit of armor fashioned for me and the plating is made of vanadium steel, the strongest substance known to man."

"Trust me, bub, it ain't the strongest." Wolverine smirked.

"It does not matter. The only matter of importance is that I will now have my revenge for the injury that you managed to luckily inflict on me." The Samurai asserted, before turning his attention to Mariko, "Sister, I am surprised though to see you here."

"I do not wish to see any more blood shed than already has been, especially from my own family. As the one true leader of the Clan Yashida, I order you to end your current course of action." Mariko told him, to which the Samurai responded by laughing.

"I take no orders from you, woman." The Silver Samurai answered, as his laughter finally stopped, "As for leadership, I intend to claim it for myself here and now, and by the use of my blade if necessary."

"Then, it looks like we got us a major problem." Wolverine said, as he stepped forward, "The next move is yours."

"Very well. Mariko, I will face your chosen Samurai, your Champion. You can watch as I slay him, and know what the future holds for you." The Silver Samurai told them, as he removed his sword from its sheath.

"Why don't you quit runnin' your mouth, and let's get on with it. And by the way, you don't have to hide your secret sword trick, because I ain't gonna hide these." Wolverine said as he popped his claws from both hands and ran at the Silver Samurai. The Samurai immediately energized his Tachyon blade in response, and both men prepared to strike at one another.

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Meanwhile as the fight inside was starting, the fight outside was now well under way.

"So, y'all do this a lot back at your school?" Gambit asked Rogue, as they stood with their backs facing each other, while they fought against the Hand and Yakuza.

"Yeah, but up until Ah got to Japan, Ah mainly just got to watch the action from the sidelines." Rogue responded, as she used her sword to cut one of the ninjas on the arm, before punching him out.

"You make it sound like some sorta spectator sport?" Gambit responded, as he threw two charged cards at a ninja that was close to him, before striking at another one with his staff.

"Uh-huh, with pay-per-view and everything." Rogue quipped, as she spun around to kick a Yakuza gangster in the face. The man was wielding a metal bat and was about to hit Gambit, who at that particular moment happened to be occupied with two ninjas in front of him.

"Thanks, Belle." Gambit told her, as he thanked her for the save.

"Anytime, 'Mon Ami'." Rogue answered in a sarcastic tone.

Right at that moment, Sunfire came flying by overhead and took out many of their adversaries in the immediate area, giving Rogue and Gambit a temporary interruption in their conflict.

"If t'ings keep goin' like dis, we gonna run out of folks t'play with pretty soon." Gambit said, as he and Rogue stood and faced each other in front of a demolished section of the estate.

"You say that like you're disappointed." Rogue responded.

"Nah, to be honest I t'ink I just about had all of de fun I can handle for awhile." Gambit responded as he and Rogue continued talking, while the combined efforts of the Hand and Yakuza were being routed.

While the Hand and Yakuza were falling back into more defensive positions around the estate, one ninja in particular was doing the exact opposite. Underneath the standard red hood of the Hand was a man who, due to a recent injury, currently had his jaw wired shut. It was an injury that had been caused when he was struck in the face by a large metal chain, a chain that he had lost during a fight a little more than twenty-four hours ago in the Ginza district. He had been hit by a young girl with long auburn hair and a white streak running through it. The ninja had marveled at the fact that the girl seemed to be different from her companion, the maniac with the claws protruding from his hands. While the clawed devil summarily hacked his brothers to pieces, the girl was content to simply knock him unconscious without bothering to finish him off.

"It is a mistake that she will not live much longer to regret." The ninja said to himself, as he silently crept towards her holding a handgun that had been dropped by one of the Yakuza members.

"Ah never thought you'd be one to say that you were tired of living life a-thrill-a-minute." Rogue said, as she and Gambit continued their conversation, unaware of the ninja's advances towards them.

Well, almost unaware.

"I suppose a man's gotta learn when it's time t'slow down at some point, and I…" Gambit was sarcastically responding to Rogue, when he suddenly stopped. While Gambit didn't have Wolverine's enhanced sense of hearing, he still possessed ears that had been trained to crack the most securely built safes in the world. They were also able to hear the hammer of an improperly maintained gun as it cocked back, a split second before it was fired. And a split second was all it took for Gambit's super-honed reflexes to react.

"Rogue!"

That was all that Gambit had time to say before he leapt to grab her, knocking her to the ground underneath him. With all of the fighting going on around them, including the explosions resulting from Sunfire's solar blasts, Rogue hadn't yet realized why Gambit lunged at her the way that he did.

"Ah thought Ah warned you about this kind of thing back at the warehouse." Rogue said jokingly, as Gambit lay across her on the ground.

"Ain't nothin' like dat, just didn't want to see you…" Gambit muttered, before he collapsed on top of her.

"Gambit? Remy?" Rogue said worriedly, as she sat up with Gambit lying across her lap. At that instant, she finally saw what had made Gambit act in the way that he did, as the ninja with the gun was now out in the open and prepared to fire it once again. But, he didn't get his second chance.

**Thunk!**

Was the sound that Rogue heard, as the ninja fell down with a large dagger sticking out of his back. She looked behind the felled ninja to see one of Mariko's men as he smiled after saving them. He then left to join Sunfire and the others fighting in another part of the estate.

But before he made it more than three steps, the section of wall close to where most of the fighting was now taking place suddenly exploded. The explosion was a result of it being hit by a solar blast, but Sunfire wasn't responsible for it and he seemed to be just as surprised as everyone else.

"By order of the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, everyone stop where you are and lay down your arms." A voice ordered them in Japanese over a police megaphone. Then, a plethora of heavily-armed policemen began to enter the compound, followed by a girl that appeared to be in her late teens. Under normal circumstances, the girl would have seemed to be your average teenager.

What made her appearance this night extraordinary, however, was the fact that she was completely consumed by 'solar flames' as she walked in behind the officers.

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Back inside the mansion, amidst the broken equipment and damaged interior of the dojo, Wolverine and the Silver Samurai were locked in a struggle that they both intended to continue fighting, until one of them was dead.

Wolverine was currently down on one knee, with both of his hands out in front of him. He had both sets of claws crisscrossing in front of his face to form an 'X', as he used them to block an attempted blow from the Silver Samurai's energized sword.

"It is only a matter of time before my Tachyon blade cuts its way through these claws of yours." The Samurai asserted, as he continued to put pressure behind his sword against Wolverine's claws.

"And it's like I said before, I seriously doubt that." Wolverine replied, as he prepared to use the Samurai's own momentum against him. Wolverine quickly fell back, thrusting his foot into the Silver Samurai's abdomen and cart-wheeling him overhead. The Samurai instantly regained his bearings in mid-air and landed on his feet, while Wolverine jumped back up from the floor.

"It will take more than that to defeat me." An exhausted Silver Samurai said, as he lifted his sword into an offensive stance and prepared to strike at Wolverine once again.

"Oh, I got lots more for you." An equally winded Wolverine replied, as the two men ran at each other yet again.

Wolverine struck out with a flurry of furious claw slashes at the Samurai, who was able to quickly and effectively block each strike with his sword. But before Wolverine could mount another offensive, the Silver Samurai seized on an opening and quickly spun like a dancer around Wolverine in a 360-degree motion, cutting him deeply across his back in the process. Not to be outdone, Wolverine instantly responded by aiming the claws on his left hand at the Silver Samurai's head and ripped off a chunk of his helmet. While the Samurai's helmet was made out of the same vanadium steel that his armor had been made from, the protection it provided him still wasn't enough to keep adamantium claws from cutting him on the left side of his face and leaving a nice sized scar as a reminder of this night.

"It looks likes we got to the part of the evenin' where we make piecemeal out of each other, bub." Wolverine said, as he let a smile be the only outward sign of the pain that he felt from the Samurai's blow to his back.

"In that case, I will fillet you alive." The Silver Samurai replied as he brought his hand down from his face, his silver-colored glove now covered in his own blood, and prepared his sword for another attack.

"Harada-san, I ask you again to lay down your sword and stop this." Mariko, who had been a silent spectator to the brutality in front of her, said to her brother.

"So, it is not enough for you that our father shamed me by leaving all of his worldly belongings to a child, instead of the son that was by his side learning how to run the Clan Yashida. It was I who took on the persona of the Silver Samurai, acting as Shingen Yashida's own personal enforcer. I served my father loyally, in spite of his reluctance to publicly recognize me as his son. Now, you seek to further dishonor me by asking that I back down against an insignificant, Gaijin interloper. Never!" The Silver Samurai shouted, as he charged at Wolverine with his energized sword in hand.

As Wolverine prepared for the Silver Samurai's imminent attack, he realized that the fight was now his to win. Just like the Samurai had used Rogue as a means to make Wolverine's emotions blur his fighting instincts in their first fight, Mariko's comments had managed to bring the feelings of inadequacy that the Silver Samurai had buried deep inside up to the surface. The Samurai now swung wildly at Wolverine, instead of in the tight and focused manner that he had been fighting in previously. Wolverine proceeded to hit his sword on both sides with his claws, at exactly the same time. The force of the impact caused psychic feedback to go through the blade, momentarily disrupting the Samurai's Tachyon field and shattering his unprotected sword.

Then, Wolverine prepared to finish this fight.

Weaponless, the Silver Samurai punched Wolverine directly in the face, only to discover the same lesson that Gambit had learned in his fight with Wolverine. As the nerve endings in the Samurai's hand spiked in pain, Wolverine slammed one set of his claws into the Samurai's abdomen. When Wolverine pulled them out, the Samurai fell down to the ground in an unconscious heap. Then without a witty remark, without uttering a word at all, Wolverine intended to take on the role that Colonel William Stryker had always meant for him.

Executioner.

"Logan-san, stop!" Mariko called out, as Wolverine pointed his claws at Harada and was about to end his life.

"Huh?" A confused Wolverine replied, as he looked back at her.

"He is already beaten, spare him his life." Mariko sighed, as she told him her request.

"**Have you completely lost your mind**!" Wolverine yelled at her, as he knelt over Harada with his claws still extended and about an inch away from him, "This guy tried to kill you, and more than once I might add over the last twenty-four hours. I don't put an end to him now, this'll just keep goin' on."

"I realize that death is no less than what my brother deserves, and no less than what he had in mind for me." Mariko responded, "But, I am not my brother and I do not intend to begin acting like him now. There has been enough pain and hatred between us, it is time to break that cycle. His criminal empire will be in ruin once he loses the support of the Jigoku underworld, and it sounds as though the police have arrived outside. Let the law decide his fate now."

Wolverine, who had been fighting back the 'Beserker rage' within for the entire fight, now struggled even more to maintain control. He looked down at the unconscious Harada, holding his claws less than an inch from his face. After a few moments of deep, internal debate, Wolverine finally retracted his claws and stood back up.

"You really thought this through?" Logan said to her.

"Hai. (Yes)" Mariko answered, as she directly looked into his eyes.

"Fine, I'll respect your wishes." Logan said, as he walked over towards Mariko, "But, I think you're makin' a huge mistake by not lettin' me finish him off."

As Logan walked over to Mariko and put his arm around her, they turned to walk towards the door of the dojo, where she then stopped to ask him a question.

"Do you think I am a coward for not having the inner-resolve to allow you to end my brother's life?" Mariko asked him.

"Truth be told, I think it's pretty decent that you have enough love in your heart to not want me to. It's what makes you different from cold-blooded warriors, like me and your brother." Logan replied, as they continued on out of the room.

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With the battle inside of the estate concluded, Mariko and Logan ventured outside to see that the battle out there was also at an end. The police were busy rounding up and arresting members of the Hand and Yakuza inside of the estate, while also following those criminals that had tried to escape. But just because the battle was over, the fighting was far from finished.

"You have no business here!" Shiro shouted, "This place is far too dangerous right now."

"And you can stop being so over-protective!" Leyu Yoshida shouted back at her older brother, "I am sixteen years old, and quite capable of taking care of myself."

"I will be the one to make that determination." Shiro told her.

"Like you know everything." Leyu replied.

"It feels like I'm lookin' at a foreign re-write of 'It's My Life'." Logan said to Mariko, as he commented on the similarities between Shiro and Leyu's relationship, to his and Rogue's, "Speaking of people in my life, where is Rogue?"

Mariko didn't have an answer for Logan's question, but the two of them surveyed the area around them and eventually saw that Rogue was out amongst the numerous police cars and policemen moving about. They saw her standing near an ambulance looking visibly upset, which caused Logan and Mariko to immediately rush over to her.

"Everything alright, darlin'?" Logan asked her, concerned that maybe Rogue had been injured.

"Ah'm fine, thanks to Remy." Rogue replied, as she continued to stare at the back of the ambulance that had its doors closed, "Some guy shot at me, and Remy jumped in the way to save my life."

"He did that?" Logan asked, surprised to hear the sacrifice that Gambit had made, "How's he holdin' up?"

"The medical people say the bullet didn't go very deep. Remy was wearing some kind of protective gear under his outfit." Rogue informed them, as she finally looked up from the ambulance to Logan and Mariko, "Ah'm gonna ride in the ambulance to the hospital with him."

"We will be right behind you." Mariko replied.

Just then, Shiro walked up to the trio and spoke.

"Tend to your friend, I will remain to aid the police in finishing things here." Shiro told them.

"Interesting that you should bring that up." A voice said, as he walked up to the group.

They all turned around to see Detective Takimoto of the Tokyo police standing there.

"I must say a job well done, Agent Yoshida." Detective Takimoto told him.

"How many times must I remind you that I am involved in this conflict strictly out of concern for my family and no other reason?" Shiro asked him.

"Until you begin to believe that yourself." Takimoto answered, "I had gotten a tip the other night from an informant regarding the struggle for power within the Clan Yashida. The Japanese government has been secretly building a case against the Yakuza, and it's top leaders, for the better part of a year now. As their local liaison, I knew the time was drawing near that we would have to take action against them. That is the reason that I contacted you. I knew that you would be concerned for your loved one's well-being, but I also know that you hold a deep sense of responsibility to uphold what is just and fair. When I called your home tonight to find out what you had learned, your sister said that you had not returned since the night before. We both came to the conclusion that you were most likely already here, so I went and obtained a search & arrest warrant to bring the full force of the NPA here."

Detective Takimoto then reached into his pocket, and handed something to Shiro.

"This is for you." Takimoto said.

Shiro looked down to see that it was an official agent's badge to the National Department of Special and Covert Investigations.

"I do not want this." Shiro told him.

"The badge is yours, whether you choose to use it or not. I am just hoping that if, and when, the day comes that your fellow countrymen are in dire need, that Sunfire will be ready to answer the call to protect them." Takimoto smiled, as he turned and walked back into the crowd of policemen.

"We are ready to go." One of the medical technicians said to Rogue, as they were about to depart with Remy to the hospital.

"Ah'll see you at the hospital." Rogue said to Logan and Mariko, as the rear door to the ambulance opened up for her. Rogue then saw Gambit lying down on a stretcher in the back of the ambulance, hooked up to an IV and with other vital sign monitors attached to him. But true to his personality, Gambit acted as though he couldn't have been happier

"So, you gonna turn on the sirens on this t'ing for me Chere, or I gotta do it myself?" Remy asked her jokingly, as she stepped up into the vehicle.

"Remy Lebeau, you 'Suh' are one of a kind." Rogue smiled, as she sat down next to Remy and took his hand into her own gloved-one.

As the ambulance pulled away from the estate, Mariko and Logan prepared to find a car so that they could go to the hospital as well. But, Logan remembered that he had one more thing left to do.

"Shiro…" Logan said to him.

"Yes?" Shiro answered, as he turned back around.

"Tell the police to be careful with Harada. I put him down, but not out." Logan warned him.

"I will see to him personally." Shiro pledged, as he prepared to go inside with the other police officers. Most of the officers were either still making arrests, or gathering evidence in the estate that would be used in their case against the Yakuza.

"And I will help too." Leyu added, as she walked over to her brother.

"The only thing that you will do is find somewhere safe to keep yourself, until I can take you home." Shiro disagreed.

"Ugghh, you are impossible." Leyu replied, following Shiro as they walked inside of the estate.

With that, Mariko and Logan soon departed for the nearby hospital where Remy and Rogue were heading to, as the night and their personal war had finally come to an end.

But, they were totally unaware that another battle was looming on the horizon…

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Next chapter: Logan and Rogue receive shocking and disturbing news from back home…


	15. Farewell

A/N: Special thanks to everyone for reviewing the last chapter.

**Moon Comix**- Yeah, I don't necessarily have anything against Bobby, or a Bobby/Rogue relationship. I just decided to include Romy in my story since, in all likelihood, we won't be seeing that in the actual movies.

**ishandahalf**- You better believe it, not a lot of guy's would take a bullet for their mother, let alone for a girl that they just met. Then again, as Remy's starting to realize, Rogue isn't like most girls. As far as the shocking news, just scroll down a little and you'll find out…

**Jean1**- I'm glad you liked the fight scene, I try to strike a balance between good action and showing the dimensions to a character's personality. I'm also glad you liked Remy's self-observtion, I was wondering if any readers would pick up on that rather subtle line. Logan and Remy might seem to be very different, but they might be more similar than either would ever care to admit. As far as Logan settling down, I think with Mariko it was just a case of bad timing. I mean, he made it all the way to the altar and appeared that he was more than ready to go through with it and get a taste of married life. Hmmm, a married Logan…

**Lucas'sgirl**- It's fine about the update, I take them whenever and however I can get them. I'm just really glad that you liked the last couple of chapters. And of course, Gambit can be loveable…

**Episodic**- Yeah, I've been reading/hearing those rumors too, which at least gives us something to ponder. Glad you liked the last chapter with the action, Romyness, and Logan/Mariko. I'm not sure what I'd call them either, but I hadn't really thought too much about it, especially since I keep getting reviewers that think Mariko Yashida and the rest of her family are just a figment of my imagination (I only wish I was **that** good.) As far as the last sentence, I know, I can be a stinker sometimes…

**haruechan**- Glad you liked the action and the plotlines with Logan/Mariko and Gambit/Rogue. Looks like you'll get your wish to find out what's going on at the school, and who knows, maybe the end is closer than you thought…

**Star-of-Chaos**- Glad you liked the battle scene, and how Remy risked it all for Rogue.

**FreakyXGoth**- Looks like you're gonna get your wish now…

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**Knock-Knock-Knock**…

…Was the sound heard by Remy Lebeau at the bedroom door, where he was currently lying down.

"C'mon in." Remy responded, to which the door immediately opened.

"Ah thought you might be getting hungry." Rogue said to him, as she walked into the guest room at Mariko's penthouse, carrying a tray with her.

Remy took one look at Rogue and thought that she looked as stunning as ever, despite the fact that she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. All she had on was a simple white hooded sweater with a small 'X' insignia on the upper left side, a pair of white sheer gloves, and matching pair of Lycra pants. Outside of maybe Belladonna, the girls that usually caught Remy's eye were the ones that either wore way too much makeup, or way too little clothing, neither of which described Rogue.

After seeing Rogue for the first time on that night he broke into Mariko's home at Agarashima, Remy couldn't figure out why a girl who didn't fit into those previous descriptions, continued to stick out in his mind. But, after getting to know more about her over the last few days, Remy had finally figured it out.

Rogue was unlike any girl that he had ever met before.

"Let me help you wit' dat." Remy said, as he went to sit up on the edge of his bed, but did so a little too quickly. He felt a sharp pain go up into his right upper back near his shoulder, the area where he had been shot.

"Just lie back and relax." Rogue told him, as Remy's facial expression relayed how he felt, "You just got out of the hospital yesterday, and those pain killers the doctor prescribed'll only do so much."

"I'm just glad to be outta dat place. Another day, and I would've been climbin' de walls." Remy replied.

"Please, you were only in there for a couple of days." Rogue pointed out, as she sat the tray down on the nightstand. She then sat down on the bed next to Remy, in between him and the nightstand, "Besides, Ah figured you would love having all of those pretty nurses waitin' on you hand and foot."

As Rogue sat down beside him, Remy couldn't help but notice the unique perfume fragrance that she was wearing. At that moment, he thought it was the sweetest scent that he had ever smelled.

"They were all right, but it ain't nothin' like de way you been waitin' on me hand and foot, Chere." Remy smiled, as Rogue helped him with his meal. Since his right arm was in a sling that kept that side of his body stabilized while he healed, he only had use of one good arm at the moment.

"Then you'd better enjoy it while you can, 'cause trust me, it ain't gonna become a habit." Rogue said in a very serious tone.

"Yes, ma'am!" Remy sarcastically replied, in an equally serious tone.

Rogue looked at Remy sternly for a few seconds, but she couldn't keep herself from busting out with laughter. Remy loved her laugh, it wasn't overly sophisticated or sexy, but he could tell it came from somewhere that was genuine and deep within.

While they sat there, Rogue also thought about how Remy made her laugh, and she also thought about her feelings towards him in general. She had come to Japan originally to sort out her feelings for her ex-boyfriend Bobby Drake. While Bobby was the one that had dumped her, Rogue believed that she was in love with him, and even now, still had strong feelings for him. But, she also had feelings for Remy that were growing stronger everyday, which only complicated matters further.

After Remy had finished eating, Rogue got everything back together and put it back on the tray sitting on the nightstand.

"Is there anything else Ah can get for you?" Rogue asked, as she stood up and faced him.

"You know, I could really go for a smoke right 'bout now. Been a couple days since I had one." Remy replied, which caused Rogue to come unglued.

"**You're supposed to be tryin' to get healthy again**! Last time Ah checked you didn't have a healing factor, which means the last thing that body of yours needs is smoke pollutin' it! Plus, Ah'm sure Mariko doesn't want her home smellin' like cigarette smoke, Ah mean, Logan doesn't even smoke in here and he smokes like a damn train. On top of that--" Rogue continued blasting him, before she was swiftly interrupted.

"All right, All right, I get de point. You worse than my Tante Mattie, de woman dat raised me back home." Remy conceded, "How about a glass of juice instead, unless dat's a banned item too."

"Ah'll bring you some in a little while. First, you need to get some rest." Rogue smiled as she calmed down, before helping Remy lie back down in the bed.

Rogue then picked up the tray and left the room, closing the door behind her. As the scent of her perfume continued to linger in the room, Remy laid in bed thinking about what Rogue had said to him.

"Yeah, never met a girl like her before." Remy thought, as a big smile came across his face.

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Just as Rogue was walking back towards the kitchen from Remy's room, Logan and Mariko entered the suite through the front door.

"What'd they say?" Rogue said to them, as she stood in the living room holding the tray.

"Well, it looks like your boyfriend lucks out again." Logan replied from the entrance, "The Japanese authorities vouched for Lebeau with Inter-Pol, saying he was instrumental in taking down Harada and the rest of the guys in the Jigoku underworld, and helping to throw a monkey-wrench in the criminal ring around the Asian-Pacific rim. So, Inter-Pol decided to help in getting most of the charges against him dropped. I guess it also didn't hurt the Cajun to have a lady in his corner that's on a first name basis with the Prime Minister."

Logan then looked over at Mariko, whom he had been referring to.

"Considering all that Remy did to help me in my time of need, it is the least that I could do for him." Mariko responded.

"Man, that kid sure did get around. He must've been wanted in countries from just about every part of the globe." Logan said, as he and Mariko were taking off their coats by the entrance.

"Ah'm sure he'll be more than happy to brag about it later. Ah guess Ah'll ask him…" Rogue was saying, before she suddenly stopped, dropping the tray full of empty dishes that she had brought from Remy's room. She just stood there, silent, looking directly at the big-screen television in the living room of the penthouse suite. Rogue had turned the TV on earlier, but she had turned the sound down so that she wouldn't wake Remy up.

"Rogue, what's the matter darlin'?" A concerned Logan asked her, as the television was facing away from him.

"Muir Island, Scotland. Isn't that the place the Professor said he and the others were headin' to, after they left Siberia?" Rogue asked him, referring to the trip that some of her classmates had made. It was to attend the memorial service for Peter Rasputin's brother, Colonel Mikhail Rasputin.

"I'm pretty sure that's what he said." Logan answered, "Why're you askin'?"

"Because, something bad happened there. Something real bad." Rogue said in a tone that relayed how bothered she was by what she now saw in front of her.

"Turn it up." Logan said, as he and Mariko came over from the front entrance area to the sofa, and sat down in front of the TV. Rogue grabbed the remote to turn up the volume and stood close by, as the three of them saw an island that looked like it had been turned into a warzone.

_Our top story remains the apparent attack on Muir Island, one of the top genetics research laboratories in the world located off the eastern coast of Scotland. It has yet to be determined what exactly provoked the action against the Muir Island research facility, but eyewitnesses report seeing large robots flying over the island. Although their existence has yet to be confirmed, Sentinels have long been rumored to have been in existence, as a contingency against an increasingly hostile mutant populace._

_Which begs the question, what links, if any, do Dr. Moira MacTaggert and her research facility have to such mutant terrorist groups..._

"Mutant terrorists mah ass! Those are mah friends you're talkin' about!" Rogue shouted, as she finally broke her silence.

"Rogue, just calm down, so we can hear what else they have to say." Logan said as he tried to calm Rogue, which was a switch on their usual roles.

"Forget them! Ah'm gonna find out what's goin on, straight from the horse's mouth." Rogue said angrily, as she left and quickly went into another part of the suite.

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While Mariko and Logan continued watching the report, Rogue went into another room to make a very important phone call to a cell phone in Salem Center, New York.

"It's your quarter and a half." A voice on the receiving end of the phone said to Rogue.

"Jubilee?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah." Jubilee laughed a little as she responded to Rogue, "You actually think anyone else would own up to having a name like this."

"Ah guess not." Rogue replied, "Ah just saw the news. What in the world's goin' on?"

"I've been calling your hotel since this morning, but I didn't get an answer." Jubilee told her, "It looks like some maniac with too much time on his hands decided to turn a bunch of killer robots loose on the public."

"I'm sorry, me and Logan have been kinda busy over here, and I hadn't gotten a chance to tell you that we were staying somewhere else." Rogue apologized, "But, it's true? There really were Sentinels over there?"

"Uh-huh." Jubilee confirmed, as she was in the middle of doing her nails. She had tried to find something to distract her from the news that had been running through her mind since the night before, "Storm, Colossus, Shadowcat, and Siryn's Dad ended up fighting with them over there."

"Are they okay?" Rogue asked.

"Depends on your definition of okay." Jubilee answered, "If you mean, are they still breathin', then yeah. But, those Sentinels knocked everyone around pretty good. Kitty and Terry got banged up a little, but Ororo was blasted by one of those things and got hurt pretty bad. Heck, the Professor got hurt so bad that he can't even use his mind powers right now, and those things took off with the lady he went to visit, Dr. MacTaggert."

"That sounds horrible. Do they know who did this?" Rogue continued to inquire.

"Not yet. Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Beast have been down in the War Room, beatin' their heads together tryin' to figure it out. None of the world's major governments seem to know either, which means we're probably dealing with your typical, mutant-hating nut-job." Jubilee revealed, "The rest of us have been doin' crowd control upstairs. The X-Babies are totally freakin' over it, and I can't say I much blame 'em."

"Ah thought the Professor told us that the guy who built the first Sentinels died years ago, and that the whole program was dismantled and swept under the rug?" Rogue asked Jubilee.

"Well, it looks like somebody else decided to go back and lift that rug up again." Jubilee commented, "Anyways, Mr. Summers has the school on high alert, until they get what the real deal is. We would send the Blackbird to get you two, but right now it's under a ton of rocks on Muir Island."

"That's fine, Ah think we'll be alright." Rogue responded.

"If someone's declared open season on mutants, I don't think any of us are gonna be alright." Jubilee told her in a worried tone, which was something that they rarely heard from the lively teenager.

Jubilee and Rogue continued to talk for a few more minutes, before Rogue said that she wanted to go tell Logan what she had found out. Jubilee told Rogue to call her cell, if she and Logan needed to get into contact with them for any reason.

Rogue then got up and went back into the living room, to tell Logan what she had learned.

"So what'd you find out?" Logan asked Rogue, as he and Mariko were still sitting on the sofa watching the report on television.

"It was pretty bad." Rogue answered, "Jubilee said everyone took some nasty bumps over there. But, she said the Professor got hurt so bad that he lost his powers."

"Chuck's a tough old bird, he'll bounce back in no time." Logan said to Rogue, as he tried to convince himself of that fact as well, "At any rate, whoever's behind this just bit off a mouthful of trouble."

Logan then solemnly turned towards his lady-love, and spoke.

"I need to go call the airline. Me and Rogue are gonna be headin' back home, so we can get to the bottom of this." Logan told her.

"You are more than welcome to use my private jet for your trip." Mariko offered.

"Thanks, M'iko. You don't know how much I appreciate that." Logan told her, as he leaned over on the sofa to give her a kiss as a small token of his gratitude. When Logan told Mariko thank you, he was referring both to her sheer thoughtfulness behind the gesture, and also to the fact that he had such a hard time traveling through airport security because of his adamantium skeleton, "I'm gonna go call McCoy, and let him know we'll be on our way back."

Logan then got up to got to the other room that Rogue had been in previously, when his young friend stopped him.

"Logan." Rogue said to him.

"What's up kid?" Logan replied.

"What about Remy?" Rogue asked him, wanting to know where the New Orleans native now fit into their plans.

"What about him." Logan replied simply.

"Logan…" Rogue said in a slow, drawn out tone.

"Oh, all right. The Cajun can come back with us if he wants." Logan told her, "But I'm tellin' you right now, I ain't walkin' or feedin' him."

"Ah'm pretty sure they said the same thing about you, back when we first showed up at the mansion." Rogue responded.

All Logan did was smile at her comment, before he continued on into the other room.

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While Logan went and called home, Rogue went to Remy's room to talk to him. After knocking on the door and realizing that Remy was awake, Rogue went and sat down on the bed next to him. She explained to him what had happened with the Sentinels, and the reason that she and Logan were now going back home. She then asked him if he wanted to join them?

Remy immediately had reservations about going, but his anxiety had nothing to do with a fear of fighting giant killer robots.

"You really t'ink a guy like me belongs at a private school?" Remy asked her, "I don't t'ink I'd really fit in at a place like dat."

"You mean to tell me that you met Logan, and you have doubts about whether you'd fit in over there." Rogue said jokingly, trying to put Remy at ease, "Besides, it's more than just a school. They teach us to use our powers to help and protect people. Didn't you tell me back at the Silver Samurai's home that you were tired of your old life? This is the perfect opportunity for you to start a new one."

"Dis _Professeur_, you really t'ink he gonna want a guy wit' my past hangin' 'round there?" Remy asked, still unsure if Rogue's proposal was such a good idea.

"Professor Xavier is a pretty good guy. He's the kind of person that looks beyond what you might've been, to see what you could be." Rogue told him, "Plus, if he doesn't like you, he'll just use his powers to make your head explode."

With that comment, Remy just looked at Rogue nervously with a stunned look on his face.

"Ah'm only kidding, Ah'm only kidding." Rogue giggled, letting Remy know that she had finally pulled one over on him.

"You know, ain't nothin' funny 'bout dat, Chere." Remy said to her, as he himself soon cracked a smile at her joke.

"So, are you in?" Rogue asked Remy.

"I don't know, I've gotten used to flyin' solo for a good while now. But, I guess I could try it and see. So, yeah, count me in." Remy finally agreed, as Rogue put her gloved hand over his, "Just hope I know what I'm gettin' myself into."

Little did Remy know how those words would come back to haunt him.

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The next morning, Rogue, Logan, and Remy arrived at the airport to begin their trek back home. Rogue and Remy went ahead and boarded the plane with their luggage, while Logan stayed behind with Mariko to do one last, final thing.

Say good-bye.

And for Logan and Mariko, it was a good-bye that neither of them had planned to or really wanted to say.

"I really hate doin' this to you." Logan said to Mariko, as they embraced each other near the boarding gate outside, "Soon as I take care of everything back home, I'll be on the first thing back over here."

"You do not need to apologize. I understand why it is that you must leave. It is 'Giri', -Duty, to one's cause and to one's family. If the roles were reversed, I would do the same thing." Mariko said, as she and Logan then gave each other a long and very passionate kiss, "But, I will count the days until you return to me."

"So will I, M'iko." Logan said, as they kissed once again, "Well, I could keep this up all day with you, but I got a plane to catch."

"Before you do, there is something I must give you." Mariko said to him as Toru, the head of her staff at Agarashima, brought a long black case to her.

"You don't have to give me anything. You're already givin' me a quick ticket back home, that's plenty enough." Logan replied.

"This is more than a simple gift." Mariko said, as she handed the case to him, "Open it."

Logan opened the case, and was shocked at what he saw inside.

In the case was the Honor Blade of the Clan Yashida, the sacred symbol of Mariko's family, which had been passed down for generations.

"I had intended to present it to you in a more formal ceremony, but recent events seem to have prevented me from doing that." Mariko told Logan.

"M'iko, I…I can't accept this. I ain't nowhere near worthy of it." Logan said to her.

"If anyone is worthy of possessing it, it is you Logan-sama." Mariko responded, "You are a true example of what a Samurai should be. You are my Chosen, bonding us together with you as my honored warrior, but also as the man that now holds my heart."

"With an endorsement like that, I guess it'd be downright rude of me to refuse it." Logan said, as he took the black case into his hands, "I don't have a family heirloom or nothin' to give to you, but I can give you this as a reminder of me."

Logan then took off his favorite brown Stetson that he was wearing, and placed it on top of Mariko's head.

"It's a couple sizes too big, but you can keep it warm for me until I get back." Logan told her.

"I will cherish it." Mariko said, as she pushed his hat up a little and kissed Logan one more time, before he went to board her private jet.

Logan got on the plane and sat down near one of the windows, where he could now see Mariko standing out by the gate and clutching his hat close to her body, fighting back tears. Just then, Remy came from the front of the plane, heading towards its back.

"What're you and Rogue doing?" Logan asked Remy, after his shirt collar had made sure that his eyes were dry before he spoke.

"She's up front wit' de pilot. She wanted to see if takin' dis plane off was anything like takin' y'alls plane off back home. I tried tellin' her dat they're all probably de same, but she just had to see for herself." Remy told him, "I'm on my way to de back, de pilot said they had a bar back there. You want I should bring you somethin' back?"

"Nah, I'm fine for now." Logan replied, "But, sit down for a minute 'Slick', me and you need to have a talk."

"What, you gonna give me another speech on not bein' old enough to drink?" Remy asked Logan sarcastically as he sat down in the seat next to him, while the plane prepared to take off.

"As long as you're not a loud drunk, I could care less. Besides, with all the things you been into, underage drinkin' would be at the bottom of that list. Which brings me to my point." Logan said to him.

"Which would be?" Remy inquired.

"Despite your age, you've been around the block a few times, been to all kinds of places, met all kinds of people, done all kinds of things." Logan surmised.

"Yeah, I s'ppose you could say dat." Remy agreed.

"Well, Rogue hasn't had that chance to really see what the rest of the world is like, like guys like us have." Logan began, "She's a good kid, always lookin' for the best and true qualities in everybody. She even trusted me and gave me a chance, back when no one else probably would have, myself included. Rogue thinks that everybody can be redeemed, and who knows, maybe she's right. But me, I ain't that optimistic. The girl cares about you, I could tell that the instant you two laid eyes on each other, and I think it's good that she's startin' to move on past the heartbreak she's been dealin' with."

Logan then leaned in really close to Remy, to make sure that he heard what he had to say as he talked in a very serious tone.

"But with that said, I'm only gonna tell you this once. If you do anything to hurt her or add to the grief that she's already had to deal with in her life 'Cajun', I'll **personally** balance the scales with your hide."

After relaying his message, Logan then gave Remy a huge smile and patted him on the back.

"Why don't you go see about that drink, and bring me one too?" Logan said, with his huge smile still present.

"Yeah, sure. I t'ink I definitely need one now." Remy said in a hushed tone, as he stood up and continued his trip to the back of the plane.

Just as Remy was going to the rear of the plane, Rogue appeared from the cockpit.

"What were you two talkin' about?" Rogue asked, as she could hear that Remy and Logan were discussing something, but she wasn't able to tell what it was from the cockpit.

"You know, just guy talk." Logan responded, "So, is your curiosity satisfied?"

"Yeah, Ah suppose so. This plane looks like a breeze to fly, compared to getting the Blackbird off the ground." Rogue answered, "But, my curiosity's got me wonderin' what in the world you and Remy could find to talk about."

"We were just swappin' cookin' recipes." Logan smirked, "I thought you'd be tickled pink that me and your boyfriend were actually gettin' along."

"Ah don't know about him bein' my boyfriend yet." Rogue told Logan, as she sat down in the seat next to him, "But, Ah really don't understand why you don't like him. In some ways, he's a lot like you."

"If that's the case, then I know you can do better." Logan replied.

"If he is anything like you, then Ah know a girl can't do much better." Rogue asserted.

Logan let a small smile be his only response to Rogue, before he turned to look back out of the window. As their airplane took them out of Japan's airspace, Logan, Rogue, and Remy were now on their way back home.

And the X-Men would never be the same again...

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To be continued **In A Force Unleashed**…


End file.
